Czech court rules Indian accused in Pannun murder plot can be extradited to US

A Czech court has approved the extradition of Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian man accused by the United States of involvement in an alleged plot to murder Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, a Reuters report said. The Czech Justice Ministry announced the decision on Friday, leaving the final call in the hands of Justice Minister Pavel Blazek once the ruling is delivered to all relevant parties in the case.

Gupta, who was detained by Czech authorities in June last year in Prague, is accused by US federal prosecutors of collaborating with an Indian government official in a scheme to kill Pannun, a Sikh separatist with dual US and Canadian citizenship.

According to the Czech news website seznamzpravy dot com, Gupta argued that there was a case of mistaken identity and contested that he was not the person the United States was seeking. He characterised the case as "political" in nature, setting the stage for what could be a protracted legal battle.