Pannun case: Prague can extradite murder plot suspect Nikhil Gupta to US
Czech constitutional court on Wednesday said it had allowed the extradition of an Indian citizen suspected of involvement in an alleged plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States.
The US Justice Department last November charged Indian citizen Nikhil Gupta with plotting to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil.
It alleged an Indian government official was also involved in planning the plot to kill a US citizen of Indian origin.
The Czech top court on Wednesday said it had rejected Gupta's appeal against verdicts passed by lower-instance courts approving his extradition.
The extradition has yet to be approved by the Czech justice minister.
Gupta was detained at Prague airport on June 30, 2023, under extradition orders issued by the US Justice Department.
The Justice Department said the man allegedly targeted in the killing «is a vocal critic of the Indian government and leads a US-based organisation that advocates for the secession of Punjab,» a northern Indian state with a large population of Sikhs.
India's foreign ministry said earlier it had set up a «high-level» inquiry committee to look into the case.
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