Who is Nikhil Gupta, and what is the alleged link between Nijjar's murder and the Pannun assassination plot?
Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national who is currently in US custody for his involvement in the hitman-for-hire case targeting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the founder of Sikhs for Justice, a US citizen of Indian origin. Gupta was arrested by authorities in the Czech Republic in June 2023 and extradited to the US.
The US State Department on Monday said that an Indian inquiry committee investigating allegations of an Indian government official's involvement in the failed assassination plot on an American citizen will visit the country on Tuesday.
"The inquiry committee will be travelling to Washington, D.C., on 15 October as part of their ongoing investigations to discuss the case, including information they have obtained, and to receive an update from US authorities regarding the US case that is proceeding," the State Department said.
CREDIT: REUTERS
Indian inquiry into assassination plot in US
According to the State Department, the inquiry committee "is actively investigating the individual" and India had informed the US it was looking into "other linkages of the former government employee."
It is unclear if the Indian inquiry committee will get access to Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national who is currently in US custody for his involvement in the hitman-for-hire case targeting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the founder of Sikhs for Justice, a US citizen of Indian origin.
CREDIT: REUTERS
Who is Nikhil Gupta?
The 52-year-old Gupta, who lives in India, was arrested by authorities in the Czech Republic in June 2023 and extradited to the US.
According to the US Justice Department, Gupta was an associate of a senior field officer of the Indian government with responsibilities in "security management" and "intelligence" based in New Delhi.
In May 2023, he was allegedly recruited by the official, identified by the US as CC-1, to carry out the assassination of a US national based in New York.
How Gupta was caught
Gupta, who was involved in international narcotics and weapons trafficking, hired a hitman in the US, who in reality was an undercover US Drug Administration agent.
CREDIT: BCCL
In text exchanges with the hitman, Gupta had stated that he had one more target in Canada, which authorities say was Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
After Nijjar was shot dead in Canada, Gupta messaged the undercover agent that there was "now no need to wait" to kill the New York target.
Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic while he was travelling to India.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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