[ad_1]
It says that beginning in or about early May 2023, in a series of alleged telephonic and electronic communications between CC-1 and Gupta over encrypted applications, CC-1 asked Gupta to arrange the murder of the “victim” in exchange for CC-1’s assistance in securing the dismissal of a criminal case against Gupta in India.
Gupta, it alleges, agreed to orchestrate the assassination.He met CC-1 in New Delhi later to flesh out theplot, the indictment states.
“The department of justice will be relentless in using the full reach of our authorities to pursue accountability for lethal plotting emanating from overseas,” assistant attorney general Matthew Olsen said in a statement, while revealing that Gupta was arrested and detained on June 30, 2023, by the Czech authorities pursuant to the bilateral extradition treaty between the US and the Czech Republic. A press release issued with the indictment indicated that Gupta was entrapped by the US Drug Enforcement Agency in the course of the alleged assassination plot.
At CC-1’s direction, Gupta, it claimed, contacted an individual whom the latter believed to be a criminal associate, but who was in fact a confidential source working with the DEA, for assistance in contracting a hitman to murder the “victim” in New York City. The source introduced Gupta to a DEA undercover officer masquerading as a hitman. CC-1 subsequently agreed in dealings brokered by Gupta to pay the undercover officer $100,000 to murder the “victim”, the indictment order alleges.
On or about June 9, 2023, CC-1 and Gupta arranged for an associate to deliver $15,000 in cash to the undercover officer as an advance payment for the murder. CC-1’s associate then delivered the $15,000 to the purported hitman in Manhattan. In furtherance of the assassination plot, CC-1 provided Gupta with personal information about the “victim”, including his home address in New York City, phone numbers associated with him, and details about his day-to-day conduct, which Gupta then passed to the undercover agent.
CC-1 then directed Gupta to provide regular updates on the progress of the assassination plot, which he accomplished by forwarding to CC-1, among other things, surveillance photographs of the “victim”, the indictment states. Gupta then allegedly directed the undercover agent to carry out the murder as soon as possible, “but he also specifically instructed him not to commit the murder around the time of anticipated engagements scheduled to occur in the ensuing weeks between high-level US and Indian government officials”. The indictment appears to be referring to PM Narendra Modi’s three-day state visit to the US starting June 23. The press statement also referred to the assassination on June 18 of Khalistani militant Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. It said that the day after the murder, Gupta told the undercover agent that Nijjar “was also the target” and “we have so many targets”. After Nijjar’s murder, there was “now no need to wait” to kill the other “victim”, Gupta is alleged to have said.
Gupta, it alleges, agreed to orchestrate the assassination.He met CC-1 in New Delhi later to flesh out theplot, the indictment states.
“The department of justice will be relentless in using the full reach of our authorities to pursue accountability for lethal plotting emanating from overseas,” assistant attorney general Matthew Olsen said in a statement, while revealing that Gupta was arrested and detained on June 30, 2023, by the Czech authorities pursuant to the bilateral extradition treaty between the US and the Czech Republic. A press release issued with the indictment indicated that Gupta was entrapped by the US Drug Enforcement Agency in the course of the alleged assassination plot.
At CC-1’s direction, Gupta, it claimed, contacted an individual whom the latter believed to be a criminal associate, but who was in fact a confidential source working with the DEA, for assistance in contracting a hitman to murder the “victim” in New York City. The source introduced Gupta to a DEA undercover officer masquerading as a hitman. CC-1 subsequently agreed in dealings brokered by Gupta to pay the undercover officer $100,000 to murder the “victim”, the indictment order alleges.
On or about June 9, 2023, CC-1 and Gupta arranged for an associate to deliver $15,000 in cash to the undercover officer as an advance payment for the murder. CC-1’s associate then delivered the $15,000 to the purported hitman in Manhattan. In furtherance of the assassination plot, CC-1 provided Gupta with personal information about the “victim”, including his home address in New York City, phone numbers associated with him, and details about his day-to-day conduct, which Gupta then passed to the undercover agent.
CC-1 then directed Gupta to provide regular updates on the progress of the assassination plot, which he accomplished by forwarding to CC-1, among other things, surveillance photographs of the “victim”, the indictment states. Gupta then allegedly directed the undercover agent to carry out the murder as soon as possible, “but he also specifically instructed him not to commit the murder around the time of anticipated engagements scheduled to occur in the ensuing weeks between high-level US and Indian government officials”. The indictment appears to be referring to PM Narendra Modi’s three-day state visit to the US starting June 23. The press statement also referred to the assassination on June 18 of Khalistani militant Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. It said that the day after the murder, Gupta told the undercover agent that Nijjar “was also the target” and “we have so many targets”. After Nijjar’s murder, there was “now no need to wait” to kill the other “victim”, Gupta is alleged to have said.
On or about June 20, the Indian government official CC-1 allegedly sent Gupta a news article about the target and messaged him, “It’s a priority now.” The US Attorney’s office in Manhattan said that besides murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, Gupta has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which invites the exact same punishment.
[ad_2]
Source link
More Stories
Congress replaces Kamal Nath, names an OBC as Madhya Pradesh chief | India News
Fire breaks out in ITBP camp in Srinagar; none hurt | India News
Parliament Security: Co-villagers give clean chit to Lalit Jha, parents to move court | India News