Nikhil Gupta produced in US court, pleads not guilty in ‘murder plot’

New York, June 18 (IANS) Nikhil Gupta, who has been accused of being involved in a ‘murder-for-hire’ plot against a Khalistani separatist, has told a federal court here that he is not guilty.

Appearing before Magistrate Judge James Cott on Monday, he made the “not guilty” plea through his lawyer Jeffrey Chabrowe.

This was his first appearance before a US court after he was extradited on Friday from the Czech Republic.

Outside the courtroom, Chabrowe told reporters that the case is a “complicated matter for India and the US” and there should be “no rush to judgment”.

“We will pursue his defence rigorously,” he said.

He added that information will come out that will call into question the prosecution version.

Assistant Federal Prosecutor Ashley Nichols told the court that Gupta is charged in the murder-for-hire plot.

Cott ordered to keep him in custody till the next court date on June 28, when a conference on the case is scheduled.

Chabrowe did not ask for bail while reserving the right to ask for it later.

According to the indictment — the chargesheet — Gupta, who also uses the name “Nick”, is accused of participating in a plot to assassinate the leader of a “US-based organisation that advocates for the secession of Punjab state” and the establishment of a “Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan”.

The group’s leader, who is not named in the court documents, is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer with US and Canadian citizenships, who lives in New York and runs a campaign for Khalistan.

Designated as a terrorist by the Indian government, Pannun leads the organisation called Sikhs for Justice which is conducting what it calls a “referendum” on Khalistan among Sikhs.

Gupta, a slightly-built 52-year-old, entered the courtroom dressed in black pants and a sweater and sat beside his lawyer at the defence table.

He and his lawyer talked before the proceedings began, at one point both of them laughed during their conversation.

When the hearing was over, the marshals escorting him made him take off the sweater and give it to his lawyer because he was not allowed to have it.

He was left with the T-shirt he wore underneath.

Before entering the courtroom, his handcuffs had been removed.

Chabrowe told the magistrate the conditions are bad at the Metropolitan Detention Centre where Gupta is being held and that he has not eaten because vegetarian food was not available.

He said that it was a matter of religion for Gupta.