Confidential documents filed in India, America and Czech Republic in the case of Nikhil Gupta, who has been accused by the US officials of hatching a plot to murder banned Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, that have been reviewed by The Sunday Guardian paint a sorry and a scary picture of the way an Indian citizen was kidnapped from Czech soil by US officials in civilian dress, driven around in an SUV for three hours, subjected to interrogation and torture before being officially shown as arrested by the Czech officials. Even after the 52-year-old Gupta was handed over to the custody of the Czech Republic, the lawyer that he was given from the state, kept pressuring him to agree to the extradition to the US and to not to challenge it in the court.
The Delhi based family members of Gupta, who has no criminal record, were forced to engage a New Yorkbased lawyer so that Gupta could get genuine legal advice at a fee of $10,000.
As per the documents, the indictment against Gupta was filed in New York on 13 June. On 29 June, Gupta, who deals in handicraft, boarded a flight from New Delhi to Prague with a layover at Istanbul, Turkey for business purposes.
After landing at the Vaclav Havel airport, Prague, and clearing all the immigration formalities, he was kidnapped as soon as he exited the airport on 30 June and detained in a black SUV by a total of four individuals who identified themselves as US law enforcement officials.
Once in the SUV, he was subjected to physical assault. He was also forced to unlock his mobile phone after which he was driven around in the back of the SUV for three hours in Prague while being subjected to harsh questioning. After three hours, he was handed over to the officials at Pankrac prison, Prague.
In prison, he was told that he has been charged with murder conspiracy and will soon be extradited to New York. Subsequently, he was given a defence attorney by the Czech authorities who advised him to agree to the extradition. He was also falsely informed by officials around him that there was a Red corner notice issued against him by the INTERPOL.
For more than 10 days, neither his family members nor the Indian Embassy at Prague, as is the law, were informed about this illegal detention by the Czech officials. On 16 July, the family members of Gupta, upon learning of his illegal detention, raised an online complaint with India’s Ministry of External Affairs, a copy of which was also sent to the Indian Embassy in Czech.
Only after repeated follow ups from his family members, that the MEA sent an official to meet Gupta on 19 July, more than 20 days after his illegal detention. Similarly, it was only after Gupta made a representation to the Prague High court that he was allowed to call his family members and inform him about his plight.
However, this phone call facility was taken away on 4 August after the relatives of Gupta reached out to the Indian Ambassador in Washington seeking his intervention in the release of Gupta. Back in Prague, Gupta was told to confess to his “crime” and not to challenge his extradition in lieu of speaking to his family members in New Delhi.
This all continued in the presence of the state appointed lawyer. According to the court documents, the Indian embassy at Prague, despite being aware that Gupta was not being properly represented, failed to intervene on his behalf.
On 8 August, the Prague High Court while deciding on his case, stated that the US authorities have 60 days to give evidence to support the extradition of Gupta.
By this time, Gupta was in illegal detention for more than 45 days.
On 11 August his family members engaged a private criminal lawyer in Prague so that Gupta could get a fair trial. Once this happened, Gupta was shifted to an isolation ward and kept in solitary confinement to put pressure on him to not fight his case.
He was then informed by the prison officials, without any proof being presented, that he had contracted a very serious blood infection. Upon learning this, when the Indian embassy officials went to meet him in the prison, the Czech Republic officials stopped them from doing so.
On 22 August, without informing his family members or the Indian Embassy, Gupta was shifted to another prison, 200 km away from Prague so as to make him less “accessible”.
In that prison he was forcefully administered injection and asked to confess his role in killing Pannun.
On 5 October, Gupta was interviewed by 12 US individuals from the Drug Enforcement Agency, Central Intelligence Agency and a public prosecutor, Ashley C Nicolas who asked him the role that he played in the entire plot.
On 23 November, just one day after a Washington based newspaper released the story of the alleged involvement of Gupta in the Pannun plot, the Prague extradition court allowed the extradition of Gupta to US despite Gupta’s lawyer pointing out the numerous contradictions in the affidavit submitted by US officials.
On 29 November, another US newspaper released more details about this whole case which was based on sensitive court documents which was done to present Pannun as an activist and Gupta as a criminal.
As per the affidavit filed by US attorney Ashley C Nicolas in front of the New York court to seek extradition of Gupta, knew the confidential informant of the DEA for more than 7 years.
Nicolas has further claimed that Gupta and the informant, for all these 7 years, discussed drug and firearms deals, but never executed any such deal. He goes on to claim that the first mention of Pannun came up between Gupta and the informant on 30 May.
Very surprisingly, the indictment in the case was filed on 13 June, less than two weeks of Pannun’s name allegedly being discussed and the alleged payment for this assassination being paid by Gupta to the informant.