Indian man accused of plotting murder of Sikh leader Gurpatwant Pannun extradited to US

Nikhil Gupta is accused of trying to hire a hitman to assassinate community leader

A protester holds a photo of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun during a demonstration by a Hindu group in New Delhi last year over his claim that the Indian government was involved in the killing of his client, Hardip Singh Nijjar, in Canada. AFPShow less

An Indian man accused of plotting to assassinate an American Sikh community leader has been extradited to the US from the Czech Republic.

Nikhil Gupta was charged by the US government last year for allegedly plotting with Indian government officials to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US citizen who advocates for a separate Sikh nation in the north Indian state of Punjab.

Mr Gupta is accused of trying to hire a hitman for the assassination. He paid $15,000 as an advance to an undercover federal agent posing as an assassin, according to the charges filed against him.

India has denied any involvement in the alleged plot.

Mr Gupta has been in the custody of Czech authorities since June last year after being arrested on arrival in Prague at Washington's request.

A Czech court rejected his petition to avoid extradition to the US last month.

Mr Gupta, 52, is being held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, according to the US Bureau of Prisons website.

He is expected to be produced in a federal court in New York on Monday, media reports said.

The charges against him carry up to 20 years in prison.

The US shared information on the case with India, which formed a committee to investigate the case.

India’s Supreme Court rejected a petition by Mr Gupta seeking its intervention to obtain his release and ensure a fair trial, saying the Indian government was supposed to take action in the matter.

News of his extradition emerged as US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in the Indian capital on Monday and met External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Mr Pannun, who also holds Canadian citizenship, was a lawyer for Hardip Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist who was shot dead in his vehicle outside a temple in Surrey, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, in June last year.

Canada said an agent of the Indian government was involved in Mr Nijjar's murder, leading to a serious diplomatic row.

India has designated both Mr Pannun and Mr Nijjar as terrorists.

India has accused Sikh secessionist groups and leaders based overseas – especially in Canada, Australia and the UK – of funding and supporting a movement to create an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan.