Nikhil Gupta, an accused in the plot to kill Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, pled not guilty in a federal court in Manhattan on Monday, June 17.
Gupta has been accused of plotting to kill Pannun on the orders of the Indian government. He has been charged with murder-for-hire conspiracy.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) — the country’s counter-terrorism law enforcement agency — has registered a case against ‘listed individual terrorist’ Gurpatwant Singh Pannun over a video in which he threatened passengers flying Air India, the airlines with a global blockade, and the closure of its operations from November 19.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday, December 20, revealed that New Delhi has taken “seriously” the latest threat issued by the U.S.-based Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun against India’s Ambassador to the America, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, and raised it accordingly with the authorities in Washington.
In a recent video, Pannun threatened that Kwatra is on the radar of pro-Khalistani Sikhs in America for allegedly coordinating with Russian authorities, who in turn were providing inputs to Indian intelligence agencies on the Khalistani network in the United States.
Amid the strained relationship between India and Canada, Raja Mohan, foreign affairs expert and the founding director of Carnegie India, spoke about the complexities of international politics and diaspora influence, particularly in Canada.
Mohan also noted that the Joe Biden administration in the United States has taken a different stance, not playing politics with Khalistani groups, unlike Canada.
The U.S. has said it ‘won’t be fully satisfied’ unless there is ‘meaningful accountability’ at the end of India’s investigation into an alleged plot to kill a Khalistani activist based in America.
An Indian team investigating the U.S. allegations was in Washington DC last week for discussions and at around the same time an indictment was unsealed in a New York court that accused Vikash Yadav, a former officer of the spy agency RAW, of plotting the assassination attempt.
Nikhil Gupta, who has been accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has reiterated his innocence and asked a federal judge for a Hindi-speaking lawyer saying that he was not fluent in English.
Appearing in a federal court in New York on Friday, October 18, he asked the court through his lawyer for the return of a prayer book that had been confiscated from him after his arrest in the Czech Republic.
Vikash Yadav, a former operative of India’s external intelligence service Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), could well be the ultimate fall guy in the murder-for-hire plots of Khalistan separatists based in Canada and the United States as independently alleged by the two countries against India.
The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday, October 17, announced the filing of murder-for-hire and money laundering charges against a former Indian government employee, Vikash Yadav, in connection with his alleged role in directing a foiled plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is an American citizen.
In a statement, the Justice Department said, “Yadav is charged in a second superseding indictment unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Yadav’s alleged co-conspirator, Nikhil Gupta, 53, was previously charged and extradited to the United States on the charges contained in the first superseding indictment. Yadav remains at large.”
The United States on Thursday, October 17, said that the meeting with the Indian Inquiry Committee regarding the alleged foiled assassination plot of the US-based Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was “productive” and America was “satisfied” with the cooperation.
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller expressed satisfaction with India’s cooperation in the investigation.
As an Indian committee, investigating U.S. allegations that an Indian government employee directed a foiled plot to kill a Khalistani separatist on American soil, met Tuesday, October 15, with counterparts to share their findings, the U.S. said the presence of the team in Washington D.C. reflected the seriousness with which New Delhi was taking the case.
America also said that it had urged India to treat Canadian allegations about the killing of a Khalistani separatist but New Delhi had “not chosen that path”.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emplaned for the U.S. for his three-day official visit to the country. Just hours before Modi’s arrival on September 21, officials from the White House have met a group of Sikh activists. As per reports, citing a community leader, the officers assured the Sikh group that the government is committed to protecting American citizens from any acts of transnational aggression on its soil.
The meeting, initiated by the White House, was held inside the complex on Thursday, September 19. It was attended by American Sikh Caucus Committee founder Pritpal Singh and representatives from the Sikh Coalition and Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF).
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday, September 19, dismissed the lawsuit filed by pro-Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun as “unwarranted and unsubstantiated” over the ‘assassination’ attempt against the Indian government in the U.S.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that it doesn’t change India’s views about the underlying situation, now that the case has been lodged.
The Indian Consulate in New York has condemned the vandalism of the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple, saying it has raised the matter with the U.S. law enforcement authorities for prompt action against perpetrators of the “heinous act”.
“The vandalism of the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Melville, New York, is unacceptable,” the Indian Consulate said Monday, September 16, in a post on X.
The United States reiterated that it continues to expect accountability from India regarding the investigation in connection with the alleged assassination attempt on Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
US State Department said Washington continues to raise its ‘concerns’ directly with the Indian government at senior levels.
Vinay Mohan Kwatra, an Indian Foreign Service diplomat and former Foreign Secretary, has been appointed India’s next Ambassador to the United States. Kwatra is expected to take charge shortly, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs of India announcing Kwatra’s appointment on Friday,July 19.
Lawmakers, students, researchers, and community leaders came together at the 3rd National Hindu Advocacy Day to discuss the concerns of Hindus living in the US and the rising instances of hate crime. The event organized by the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) in Washington on June 28, 2024, was attended by close to 25 lawmakers including Democrat and Republican congressional representatives and staffers.
Nikhil Gupta, the Indian national accused in an alleged murder-for-hire plot involving Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US, has appeared for the first time before the trial judge, as lawyers laid out the preliminary steps.
Federal Senior Judge Victor Marrero set the next court date for September 13 during the brief hearing Friday, at which he ordered the prosecution to share the evidence it had with the defense.
It would be interesting to see if Nikhil Gupta, now in detention in New York, would become the ultimate fall guy for the Indian government or would manage to get a plea deal from U.S. prosecutors to name names of Indian Intelligence officials allegedly involved in a plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national who is accused of being involved in the alleged failed murder plot of India-designated pro-Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York City, has been extradited from the Czech Republic to the US to stand trial, NBC News reported.
A US District Court spokesperson said Gupta is scheduled to appear in the lower Manhattan courthouse on federal murder-for-hire charges Monday, June 17, the Amercian broadcaster said.
While both Washington and Ottawa take an aggressive stance on alleged Indian clandestine operations, are they equally committed to extraditing American and Canadian terrorists like David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana? Or is there a deeper disregard for India’s legitimate national security and criminal justice concerns?
Over the past year, India has found itself at the epicentre of Western allegations, coupled with old friend camaraderie with Pakistani generals accusing Indian officials of undermining the sovereignties of nations by purportedly engaging in the termination of terrorists in Canada, the US, and Pakistan.
Calling it the “most consequential relationship” that is passing through a “historic era”, US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, asserted on Tuesday that the ongoing investigation into an alleged plot to assassinate Sikh radical Gurpatwant Singh Pannun will not affect ties between Washington and New Delhi.
The disclosure by The Washington Post of Vikram Yadav as an officer in India’s spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) to be behind the thwarted plot to assassinate the U.S.-based Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has come at a particularly inopportune time for the Narendra Modi government.
India on Tuesday said a report published by Washington Post “made unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter” involving an alleged plot to kill Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated Khalistani terrorist in India, has released a video in which he is purportedly heard saying that his group will challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the former Research and Analysis Wing chief Samant Goel, “right in their own backyard.”
