Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national accused of being involved in a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannu in the United States, has spoken out for the first time since his detention in Prague last year. In an interview with The Sunday Guardian, Gupta claimed that he is innocent and has been framed in a politically motivated case. Gupta was arrested in Prague last year by the FBI and later extradited to New York, is currently facing intense conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Brooklyn.
Gupta alleged that the case against him is fabricated and meant to affect the elections in India. He described the prison conditions as a “slaughterhouse” and claimed that he has been subjected to torture and intimidation by officials. “I am an innocent man who has been wrongly framed,” Gupta said. “There is no actual case against me. All of it is fabricated and politically motivated. It was only meant to affect the elections in India.”
While speaking to The Sunday Guardian, he claimed that the US authorities are targeting him to exploit divisions within the Sikh community and influence political scenarios both in the US and India.
Gupta denied any involvement in illegal activities and claimed that he has never met any Indian government officials or intelligence agents. He also denied any criminal cases filed against him in India or elsewhere.
“I have always been a businessman,” Gupta said. “I have been involved in various small businesses. I have worked in mining, silica sand, non-ferrous metal import, brass handicrafts, and marble export. I have never been involved in any illegal or unlawful activities.”
Gupta claimed that he has been treated poorly by officials in the US and has not received any legal support. He also alleged that he has been kept in solitary confinement and has been subjected to physical and mental torture.
“The treatment from the officials is such that they expect me to agree with whatever they say,” Gupta said. “They have a hundred ways to make anyone comply through force, intimidation, and dirty tactics.”
Gupta’s family has not received any support from the Indian government, and he has been left to face the ordeal alone.
“I am more concerned about my family than myself,” Gupta said. “I am worried about how they are managing over there. Our savings have been spent on the legal fees that I had to incur in Czech and the US. I am still waiting for a response on my request for a public defender to represent me. “