Nikhil Gupta, 52, was detained by Czech authorities on June 30 this year at the behest of the US in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Pannun Assassination Case:  The Ministry Of External Affairs Thursday said India has been granted consular access to Nikhil Gupta– a Delhi-based businessman– charged by the US in a purported plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.

Gupta is currently lodged in a Czech prison, awaiting extradition to the US, where he has been charged by federal prosecutors in a foiled assassination bid on Pannun.

In his weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India received consular access to Nikhil Gupta on at at least three occasions.

India received consular access on at least three occasions to Nikhil Gupta, who is detained in a Czech prison following charges by the US relating to a foiled assassination attempt on a Sikh extremist.

Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian businessman was arrested and detained by Czech authorities on June 30 this year at the behest of the United States in connection with his participation in the alleged plot to murder the Pannun.

Earlier this month, petition filed in the Supreme Court by a family member on behalf of the Delhi-based businessman  claimed Gupta was not being allowed to contact his family in India and the arrest violated his fundamental rights.

The US federal prosecutors have charged that Gupta was working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada.

India has already constituted a probe committee to investigate the allegations.

Nikhil Gupta and the Pannun ‘assassination plot’

In November this year, US authorities charged Nikhil Gupta for his alleged role a now-foiled purported plot to assassinate New York-based Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.

Gupta has been has been charged with murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire  by the authorities. If convicted, both charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and according to US law will be stacked together, which could mean a possible 20-year prison term upon conviction, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Matthew G. Olsen had said.

$100k hit-job

According to authorities, Gupta agreed to pay $100,000 to an assassin and to kill the Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.

“On or about June 9, 2023, CC-1 and Gupta arranged for an associate to deliver USD 15,000 in cash to the UC in Manhattan, New York, as an advance payment for the murder,” the charges read.

The indictment had not named the US citizen but The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, last week reported that US authorities thwarted a plot to assassinate banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, and issued a warning to the Indian government over concerns it was involved in the plot.