Jailed Nikhil Gupta’s Family Seeks New Delhi’s Help

Photo: REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

NEW DELHI, (REUTERS) – The family of the Indian man accused of plotting with an Indian government official to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States wants New Delhi’s help to “get justice,” a source close to the family told Reuters on June 20.

Nikhil Gupta has been accused by U.S. federal prosecutors of unsuccessfully plotting with an Indian official to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. resident who Khalistan. The plot was thwarted by the U.S. government, which then warned India about concerns of its involvement.

Gupta was extradited to the US after being arrested in Prague last year on a visit from India. He pleaded not guilty on June 18 to murder-for-hire conspiracy charges in a court in Manhattan.

The family source, who declined to be named given the sensitive nature of a case that has diplomatic implications, said it “was a matter of concern for our family that we were kept in the dark about his extradition”.

“We have not been able to establish direct communication with him since his extradition to the U.S.,” the source said, adding they have received no response to queries to the Indian government and its embassies.

“Regardless of the allegations raised against him, he is an Indian citizen and a patriot who deserves the rights and protections granted by the government to its citizens.”

The source said the family believes Gupta, 52, “is a victim in this series of events” but that “he will get justice”.

India’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Separately, Canada has been investigating whether India’s government was linked to the murder of another Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.