NEW DELHI: New Delhi is in touch with the family of an Indian man who is accused of plotting with an Indian government official to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States, the foreign ministry said on Friday in reaction to a Reuters report.
Nikhil Gupta, extradited to the United States this month after his arrest in Prague last year, has been accused by US federal prosecutors of unsuccessfully plotting with an Indian official to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US citizen.
Gupta, 52, pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder-for-hire conspiracy charges in a court in Manhattan and a source close to his family told Reuters on Thursday that it wanted New Delhi’s help to “get justice.”
“We have so far not received any request for consular access from Gupta, but his family has got in touch with us,” Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters. “We are in touch with the family members and we are looking at the matter as to what can be done on their request.”
The US government has said it thwarted the alleged plot to kill Pannun and warned India about concerns of its involvement.
India has designated Pannun an “individual terrorist” but has dissociated itself from the plot, saying it goes against government policy. Pannun advocates for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India.
The source, who declined to be named given the sensitive nature of a case that has diplomatic implications, had said Gupta’s family has not been able to establish direct contact with him since his extradition.
“Regardless of the allegations raised against him, he is an Indian citizen and a patriot who deserves the rights and protections granted by the government to its citizens.”
The source said the family believed Gupta “is a victim in this series of events” but that “he will get justice.”
New Delhi in touch with family of Indian suspect in Sikh murder plot in US
https://arab.news/whf8n
New Delhi in touch with family of Indian suspect in Sikh murder plot in US
- Nikhil Gupta was extradited to United States this month after his arrest in Prague last year
- Gupta is accused by US of unsuccessfully plotting with Indian official to kill a US citizen
North Korean leader’s daughter fuels succession speculation with mausoleum visit
- The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their so-called “Paektu bloodline” dominates daily life in the isolated country
SEOUL: The North Korean leader’s daughter Kim Ju Ae has made her first public visit to a mausoleum housing her grandfather and great-grandfather, state media images showed Friday, further solidifying her place as likely next in line to run the nuclear-armed dictatorship.
The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their so-called “Paektu bloodline” dominates daily life in the isolated country.
Current leader Kim Jong Un is the third in line to rule in the world’s only communist monarchy, following his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.
The two men — dubbed “eternal leaders” in state propaganda — are housed in the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a vast mausoleum in downtown Pyongyang.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong Un had visited the palace, accompanied by top officials. Images released by the agency showed daughter Ju Ae alongside him.
South Korea’s spy agency said last year she was now understood to be the next in line to rule North Korea after she accompanied her father on a high-profile visit to Beijing.
- ‘Presented as Kim’s successor’ -
And Cheong Seong-chang at Seoul’s Sejong Institute said he expected her to soon be “formally confirmed as the next successor both domestically and internationally.”
Cheong, author of a book on the Kim leadership, said her placement in the center of the front row during her visit to the place — a place typically reserved for her father — was especially notable.
It could be “interpreted as reporting to the ‘eternal leaders’ Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il that she is being presented as his successor,” he said.
Ju Ae was publicly introduced to the world in 2022 when she accompanied her father to an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
North Korean state media have since referred to her as “the beloved child,” and a “great person of guidance” — “hyangdo” in Korean — a term typically reserved for top leaders and their successors.
Before 2022, the only confirmation of her existence had come from former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who made a visit to the North in 2013.
Analysts have suggested that she could be elected First Secretary of the Central Committee, the second most powerful position in the North Korean ruling party, at a landmark congress due to be held in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, footage showed Ju Ae accompanying her parents at New Year celebrations in Pyongyang.
While first lady Ri Sol Ju kept a low profile, state TV showed Ju Ae placing one hand on the North Korean leader’s face and kissing him on the cheek — a rare public display of affection which drew headlines in South Korea.
