New Delhi: It was supposed to be a family vacation too in Prague during Nikhil Gupta’s business trip. Everyone had gotten their visas but his daughter had some urgent work due to which it got cancelled last minute. For days the family had no idea where he was until after a couple of days, they received a call informing them of his arrest in the Czech Republic.
Gupta, an Indian national, was arrested on 30 June 2023 in the Czech Republic. He has been indicted by the United States Department of Justice for his alleged role in the purported murder-for-hire plot targeting Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in America.
Pannun, head of Sikhs for Justice, a separatist outfit banned by India, enjoys dual citizenship in the US and Canada.
While Gupta is in New York prison, after being extradited to the US from Czech Republic on 14 June 2024, co-accused, former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officer Vikash Yadav, faces extortion and kidnapping charges in India. Yadav, who was identified as CC1 in the first indictment, was named in the superseding indictment.
ThePrint spoke to a source close to the Gupta family on his condition, defence, on Vikash Yadav, and how the family is holding up in India.
Gupta, according to the source, runs a handicraft business and makes overseas trips due to work.
“No one from the Indian government has reached out to the family even once. His children have written multiple emails to the authorities, but no response has been received,” the source said.
The source said that the family exhausted their funds in the Czech Republic where in prison, Gupta suffered immense mental harassment. Further funds were spent to hire a lawyer to submit the family’s plea in the Supreme Court seeking its intervention, to aid his release and to also ensure that he gets a fair trial.
The petition filed by an anonymous relative had also said that Gupta was detained illegally in the Czech Republic. The apex court, however, rejected this petition in January last year.
“He lost a lot of weight there in Czech prison. He was miserable and starving there as he is vegetarian and they served him meat, including beef. Now he looks better,” the source said.
“The family hasn’t met him in nearly two years. Getting US visas is also difficult. They get on Skype calls with him but he puts on a brave face, he smiles and says he is doing fine. He knows his wife is listening, and his old mother can only take so much.
“The family doesn’t know what his defence will be once the trial sets off. The new lawyer appointed on 30 October last year, is in touch with the family. However, one thing is for sure, even though Gupta knew and met a lot of people due to his business and trips, the name Vikash Yadav doesn’t ring a bell to them at all. Gupta wasn’t working with any Indian agent and there was no case against him in Gujarat as well like the US has claimed,” the source said.
Gupta had asked for a government-appointed lawyer for his defence. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
“He asked for a government-appointed counsel in the US because his family is in a huge debt, but the new lawyer is not experienced in criminal defence. The Indian government has also not provided a single counsular access in the US. In Czech, he got counsular access thrice,” the source said.
ThePrint has written multiple emails to Gupta’s new lawyer. The report will be updated once a response is received.
“He doesn’t complain at all. He puts on the brave father’s face when he speaks to his children. He can’t discuss much because the calls are monitored but everyone knows, it is lonely and scary. Sometimes, he can’t speak to them for weeks because of the prison lockdown. It is a very unsafe zone,” the source said.
“The family still hopes that someone from the Indian government will speak to them, will revert to their emails. They are hopeful. It can’t be described in words how the family is holding up, but they are trying their best. He is innocent. They are all clueless about how all of this happened.”
If convicted for murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire against Pannun, Gupta will face a maximum prison time of 10 years for each charge.
(Edited by Tony Rai)