10 months ago
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Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is a prominent Sikh separatist leader
By Umang Poddar
BBC News, Delhi
An Indian man accused of conspiring to kill a US-based Sikh separatist leader has asked India's top court to intervene in his case.
Nikhil Gupta has been charged by the US government with trying to hire a hitman to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Mr Gupta is in jail in Prague and has asked the court to aid his release and help him get a fair trial.
"The Supreme Court has directed that the matter be listed on 4 January," his lawyer told the BBC.
Rohini Musa also alleged that Mr Gupta had been detained illegally and that the process to extradite him to the US had started.
"The extradition order has been passed against him. But the copy of the order has not been furnished to us," Ms Musa, who represents Mr Gupta's family, told the BBC.
"There are reports that he has already been extradited. We have not been able to get any information from him and his whereabouts," she said.
In November, US prosecutors charged Mr Gupta with a plot to kill at least four Sikh separatists in North America, including Mr Pannun.
They said that Mr Gupta had paid $100,000 (£79,000) in cash to a hitman to assassinate Mr Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen, in New York.
But the hitman was actually an undercover federal agent, prosecutors said.
He was allegedly directed by an Indian government official who was not named or charged in the indictment.
The charges against Mr Gupta carry up to 20 years in prison.
India has designated Mr Pannun a terrorist, an allegation he denies, claiming to be an activist who believes in the Khalistan movement.
Mr Gupta's petition alleges that he was arrested by "self-claimed US agents" without any arrest warrant and has not been given a fair trial till now.
It also claims that he has been under solitary confinement where his fundamental rights have been violated and that he was forced to consume beef and pork during his detention, which goes against his religious beliefs.
The petition says that he has been politically persecuted and he is wrongly accused of conspiring with the Indian government to kill an American citizen in the US where "he has no connections or business".
Mr Gupta's family has asked the Indian government to intervene for his release and ensure that he is given a fair trial.
They have also asked for an Indian advocate to represent him in the Czech Republic and the US.
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