Indian man accused of murder plot extradited to US

An Indian man accused of an alleged plot to assassinate an American citizen in New York has been extradited to the US, the Washington Post reports.

Nikhil Gupta was charged by the US government last year with trying to hire a hitman to assassinate US-based Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Mr Gupta was arrested by authorities in the Czech Republic last year on Washington's request and jailed in Prague.

Last month, Czech Constitutional Court rejected his petition against his extradition to the US.

Prison records show he is currently being held at the federal Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn.

He is expected to be produced in a federal court in New York on Monday. The charges against him carry up to 20 years in prison.

In November, US prosecutors had charged Mr Gupta with a plot to kill at least four Sikh separatists in North America, including Mr Pannun.

Mr Gupta paid $100,000 (£79,000) in cash to a hitman to assassinate Mr Pannun, prosecutors said. The hitman, they added, was an undercover federal agent.

US authorities alleged Mr Gupta was directed by an Indian government official who was not named or charged in the indictment.

The Indian government denied it had anything to do with the murder plot.

• The Sikh separatist at the centre of US murder plot allegation

Mr Pannun is a dual US-Canadian citizen living in New York.

He is the general counsel for Sikhs for Justice, an organisation based in the US that supports the broader Khalistan movement, which calls for an independent homeland for Sikhs who make up about 2% of India's population.

Mr Pannun was designated a terrorist by the Indian government in 2020, an allegation he denies.

He was also an associate of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader who was shot dead in Canada in his car last year.

The murder had led to a deterioration in India-Canada ties after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged there were "credible allegations" that Delhi had been involved. India denied the accusations.

• What US agents knew before a Sikh separatist was killed in Canada

In November, the White House said it had raised the alleged assassination plot against Mr Pannun with India at the most senior level.

Indian officials distanced themselves from the alleged plot, saying such actions were against government policy. Delhi said it had formed a committee to investigate the allegations against Mr Gupta.

In January, India's Supreme Court rejected a plea from Mr Gupta which asked it to aid his release and help him get a fair trial. The petition in India claimed Mr Gupta was arrested by "self-claimed" US federal agents and had not yet been given a fair trial.

India's top court said it would not intervene in the case, adding that it was up to the government to take action.