Indian suspect in plot to kill Sikh separatist pleads not guilty in U.S.

WASHINGTON/PRAGUE/NEW YORK (Reuters) -- An Indian man suspected by the U.S. of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder-for-hire conspiracy charges in a federal court in Manhattan.

Nikhil Gupta also was ordered detained during the hearing.

Gupta has been accused by U.S. federal prosecutors of plotting with an Indian government official to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. resident who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India.

Last June, Gupta traveled to Prague from India and was arrested by Czech authorities. A Czech court last month rejected his petition to avoid being sent to the U.S. He was extradited to the U.S. on Friday, Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blazek said.

Gupta, 52, was being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, U.S. Bureau of Prisons records showed.

The discovery of alleged assassination plots against Sikh separatists in the U.S. and Canada has tested relations with India, seen by Western nations as a counter to China's rising global influence. India's government denies involvement in such plots.

Canada said in September its intelligence agencies were pursuing allegations linking India's government to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023 in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

In November, U.S. authorities said an Indian government official had directed the plot in the attempted murder of Pannun, who is a U.S. and Canadian citizen. Gupta is accused of involvement in that plot.

Pannun told Reuters on Sunday that while the extradition was a welcome step, "Nikhil Gupta is just a foot soldier." He alleged that those who hired Gupta were senior members of the Indian