Indian national Nikhil Gupta was charged by federal prosecutors in November last year, in connection with his involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate Pannun, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada
An enquiry committee set by India will travel to the US for investigation in the case related to “failed plot” to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.
As per a readout from the US State department, the Enquiry Committee will be traveling to Washington, D.C. on October 15, 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.
“An Indian Enquiry Committee that was established to investigate activities of certain organized criminals is actively investigating the individual who was identified last year in the Department of Justice’s indictment as an Indian government employee who directed a foiled plot to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York City,” it said.
The department also said that India has informed the United States they are continuing their efforts to investigate other linkages of the former government employee and will determine follow up steps, as necessary.
Who is Nikhil Gupta? What Are The Charges Against Him in Plot to Kill Khalistani Terrorist Pannun?
Indian national Nikhil Gupta was charged by federal prosecutors in November last year, in connection with his involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate Pannun. Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic last year at the request of the US government.
US federal prosecutors had charged that Gupta was working with an Indian government employee and had agreed to pay an assassin USD 1,00,000 to kill Pannun, who lives in New York City.
Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun?
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist in India, is a leader leader of Khalistani separatist organisation Sikhs for Justice Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).
A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, Pannun was born in Khankot village on the outskirts of Amritsar and is the son of a former Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board employee named Mahinder Singh.
He graduated from Punjab University in the 1990s and reportedly founded the SFJ in 2007. He was a senior systems analyst at finance firm Merrill Lynch while attending law college in New York from 1997 to 2002, after a master’s in business administration.
The pro-Khalistan lawyer has been a key organizer of nonbinding referendums that seek a separate Sikh state – held in countries with large Indian diasporas such as Canada, the UK and Australia.
Pannun is frequently spotted at pro-Khalistan functions and gatherings in Canada. He is known for his video messages shared on social media, often threatening Indian leaders and the government, mostly pictured in dark formalwear and white-bearded.
