An Indian national is facing indictment by the United States Justice Department for his purported role in a thwarted scheme to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a leader of the Sikh Separatist Movement based in the U.S. and a New York citizen, according to official sources.
According to recent developments from the US Justice Department, an undisclosed government employee (referred to as CC-1) reportedly recruited an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, to carry out a hit on Pannun.
Gupta is currently in custody and has been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Czech authorities had arrested and detained Gupta on June 30, pursuant to the bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and the Czech Republic.
In its indictment the US Justice department has claimed that, earlier this year, an Indian government employee working together with others, including Gupta, directed a plot to assassinate on a political activist who is a U.S. citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City.
It is claimed that Gupta, is an associate of CC-1, and has described his involvement in international narcotics and weapons trafficking in his communications with CC-1. The indictment claims CC -1 directed the assassination plot from India.
On the matter, the Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen is quoted as saying “The dedicated law enforcement agents and prosecutors in this case foiled and exposed a dangerous plot to assassinate a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil. The Department of Justice will be relentless in using the full reach of our authorities to pursue accountability for lethal plotting emanating from overseas.”
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “When a foreign government employee allegedly committed the brazen act of recruiting an international narcotics trafficker to murder a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, DEA was there to stop the plot.
“The Justice Department claimed that in or about May 2023, CC-1 recruited GUPTA to orchestrate the assassination of the activist in the United States.
At CC-1’s direction, Gupta contacted an individual whom he believed to be a criminal associate, but who was in fact a confidential source working with the DEA. The source it is alleged introduced Gupta to a purported hitman, who was a DEA undercover officer. The purported hitman was offered USD 100,000 to murder the Separatist leader, the Justice Department claims.
The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The indictment follows recent sharing of information by the US on a nexus between organised criminals, gun runners and terrorists. India has since formed a high-level inquiry committee to address the security concerns highlighted by the US government, the External Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday.
The MEA said that India takes such inputs seriously since they impinge on our national security interests as well, and relevant departments were already examining the issue
The MEA further added that in this context, on November 18, the Government of India constituted a high-level enquiry committee to investigate all the relevant aspects of the matter.
(With ANI Inputs)