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
Short Url
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
51 hurt in Japan quake as warning persists
- Japan authorities warned an even bigger tremor was possible in coming days
- The agency put the chance at around one in 100 for the next seven days
TOKYO: The number of people injured in a 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Japan rose to 51 on Wednesday, authorities said, after warning an even bigger tremor was possible in coming days.
The quake late Monday off the coast of the northern region of Aomori shook buildings, tore apart roads, smashed windows and triggered tsunami waves up to 70 centimeters (28 inches) high.
The country’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said on Wednesday the injury toll was 51, rising from 30 initially reported by the prime minister a day earlier.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) had published a rare special advisory early on Tuesday, warning that another quake of similar or greater size was possible for another week.
“Due to the occurrence of this earthquake, it is believed that the relative likelihood of a new large-scale earthquake has increased compared to normal times” in the area, the JMA said the second time it has issued such a warning.
“If a large-scale earthquake occurs in the future, there is a possibility of a massive tsunami reaching the area or experiencing strong shaking,” it said.
The agency put the chance at around one in 100 for the next seven days, local media reported.
The advisory covered the Sanriku area on the northeastern tip of Japan’s main island of Honshu and the northern island of Hokkaido, facing the Pacific.
In August 2024, the JMA issued its first special advisory, for the southern half of Japan’s Pacific coast warning of a possible “megaquake” along the Nankai Trough.
The 800-kilometer undersea trench is where the Philippine Sea oceanic tectonic plate is “subducting” — or slowly slipping — underneath the continental plate that Japan sits atop.
The government has said that a quake in the Nankai Trough and subsequent tsunami could kill as many as 298,000 people and cause up to $2 trillion in damages.
The JMA lifted last year’s advisory after a week but it led to panic-buying of staples like rice and prompted holidaymakers to cancel hotel reservations.
Geologists Kyle Bradley and Judith A. Hubbard said this week that there was no way to tell whether a strong earthquake will be followed by a similarly strong, or even stronger, one.
“Instead, we must rely on historical statistics, which tell us that very few large earthquakes are soon followed by even larger events,” they said in their Earthquake Insights newsletter.
“It does happen, just not very often.”
The quake late Monday off the coast of the northern region of Aomori shook buildings, tore apart roads, smashed windows and triggered tsunami waves up to 70 centimeters (28 inches) high.
The country’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said on Wednesday the injury toll was 51, rising from 30 initially reported by the prime minister a day earlier.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) had published a rare special advisory early on Tuesday, warning that another quake of similar or greater size was possible for another week.
“Due to the occurrence of this earthquake, it is believed that the relative likelihood of a new large-scale earthquake has increased compared to normal times” in the area, the JMA said the second time it has issued such a warning.
“If a large-scale earthquake occurs in the future, there is a possibility of a massive tsunami reaching the area or experiencing strong shaking,” it said.
The agency put the chance at around one in 100 for the next seven days, local media reported.
The advisory covered the Sanriku area on the northeastern tip of Japan’s main island of Honshu and the northern island of Hokkaido, facing the Pacific.
In August 2024, the JMA issued its first special advisory, for the southern half of Japan’s Pacific coast warning of a possible “megaquake” along the Nankai Trough.
The 800-kilometer undersea trench is where the Philippine Sea oceanic tectonic plate is “subducting” — or slowly slipping — underneath the continental plate that Japan sits atop.
The government has said that a quake in the Nankai Trough and subsequent tsunami could kill as many as 298,000 people and cause up to $2 trillion in damages.
The JMA lifted last year’s advisory after a week but it led to panic-buying of staples like rice and prompted holidaymakers to cancel hotel reservations.
Geologists Kyle Bradley and Judith A. Hubbard said this week that there was no way to tell whether a strong earthquake will be followed by a similarly strong, or even stronger, one.
“Instead, we must rely on historical statistics, which tell us that very few large earthquakes are soon followed by even larger events,” they said in their Earthquake Insights newsletter.
“It does happen, just not very often.”
Latest updates
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.