WASHINGTON: An Indian man accused of planning to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannunin living in America has been extradited for stand trial.
According to US media reports, the suspect identified as Nikhal Gupta was arrested in a European country on the request of the US. He was produced in a US court after an inquiry confirmed that he had been assigned the task by the Indian government to murder four Sikh separatist leaders living in America.
Earlier last year, relations between India and Canada nosedived after the canadian prime minister accused New Delhi of orchestrating the killing of a Sikh leader in Canada in June.
The United States of America later stated that it had foiled an attempt by India to assassinate the Sikh separatist leader living in the US and warned New Delhi against it.
The report identified the Sikh leader as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is associated with the Sikh for Justice, working for the separate homeland for Sikh in India called Khalistan.
It may be noted that the Indian government has already declared Pannun as a wanted terrorist.
The report said that the US government shared its warning with its closed allies. It is not clear however if Pannun was also alerted about the threat to his life.
Last year, Khalistan Movement leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed by unknown people in Canada.
Later, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau directly blamed the Indian agencies for the murder, leading to a diplomatic spat between the two countries.
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