U.S. prosecutors said the man had been arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, following the efforts of U.S. and international law enforcement agencies.
U.S. Federal prosecutors announced murder-for-hire charges on Wednesday against Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who is accused of plotting with an Indian government official to assassinate a U.S. citizen who had called for a Sikh homeland to be carved out of India.
The case could have geopolitical implications with India seen in the U.S. as an increasingly important counterweight to China. The Indian government said it took the situation seriously. In September, relations between Canada and India were strained after the Canadians alleged Indian government involvement in the shooting of a Sikh separatist there – an accusation denied by New Delhi.
U.S. prosecutors said Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian national is also known as ‘Nick’, had been arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023, following the joint efforts of U.S. and international law enforcement agencies.
« As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India, » U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in the statement.
« I am grateful that my Office and our law enforcement partners neutralized this deadly and outrageous threat.
