TRIAL OF NIKHIL GUPTA IN PANNUN CASE SET TO BEGIN IN THE U.S.

A plea bargain is likely to be arranged if Gupta agrees to claim that he was working for Indian agencies.

The trial in the alleged murder-for-hire charges against 54-year-old Indian national Nikhil Gupta is likely to commence in the coming weeks in a New York court. Earlier last month, a Czech court cleared the extradition of Gupta to New York from Prague, where he had been held since June last year for his alleged involvement in the supposed assassination attempt on Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

The trial is expected to be lengthy, with US prosecutors fully committed to prosecuting Gupta, who stands accused of trying to kill an American citizen on US soil. Such killings, which Gupta is accused of by US agencies, have historically been the exclusive domain of US agencies known for carrying out overseas assassinations, both overt and covert, for strategic reasons.

The District Attorney's office of New York intends to prosecute this case in a manner that makes Gupta an example and a deterrent. If convicted, Gupta, who is charged with two separate offences under Title 18 (United States Code, Section 1958)-murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murderfor-hire-could face up to 20 years in prison, as each offence carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years.