Punjab Police shifts SHO from Hoshiarpur, orders probe after US indictment allegations

Hoshiarpur (Punjab), Jul 8 (PTI) The Punjab Police on Wednesday shifted an SHO in Hoshiarpur district to the Police Lines in an extortion-related investigation reportedly undertaken by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Punjab Police also ordered a fact-finding inquiry, taking cognisance of news reports and social media posts linking Inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, Station House Officer (SHO) of Tanda police station in Hoshiarpur district, to allegations contained in a US federal indictment against members of an India-based organised crime syndicate. The action came a day after the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced a coordinated international crackdown, code-named "Operation Hard Ball", against India-based transnational organised crime groups, resulting in arrests in the United States, Canada and Europe. In a statement, the office of the deputy inspector general (DIG), Jalandhar Range, said it has taken cognisance of "news reports and social media posts referring to the alleged naming of Inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, presently posted as SHO, Police Station Tanda, Hoshiarpur district, in connection with an extortion-related investigation reportedly undertaken by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under 'Operation Hard Ball'." "Pending verification of the facts, Inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra has been shifted from Police Station Tanda to Police Lines, Hoshiarpur, with immediate effect," the statement said. It further said that a formal fact-finding inquiry into the matter has been ordered by the DIG, Jalandhar Range, and entrusted it to the superintendent of police (investigation), Jalandhar Rural. The inquiry officer has been directed to examine the allegations and all relevant facts and submit a detailed report at the earliest. Further action, if warranted, will be taken strictly in accordance with the law on the basis of the inquiry findings, the statement added. The federal indictment was unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The action came a day after the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced a coordinated international crackdown against India-based transnational organised crime groups. According to reports, the indictment alleges that gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria operated the criminal syndicate from an Indian jail and Gurinderjit Singh, described as a police officer in Punjab, attempted to implicate a US-based family in a false murder case in India. The indictment alleges that the victims were asked to pay USD $400,000 as part of the alleged extortion scheme, which involved the use of false criminal proceedings in India as a means of coercion. Former Punjab chief minister and Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi, who was talking to reporters at his residence, said the SHO has only been sent to the Police Lines and demanded that a case be registered against him. He said the alleged involvement with gangsters and seeking extortion was a serious issue. "This SHO had always been given prime postings... I want to ask Chief Minister Mann that such things are going on right under his administration's nose," said Channi. Under AAP rule, gangsterism flourished and drugs have reached every home while the law and order situation has deteriorated, Channi alleged. In a post on X, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said, "The FBI chargesheet has punctured the AAP government's claims of clean governance. Beyond exposing the global gangster-extortion nexus, it has raised serious questions over the alleged role of a @PunjabPoliceInd officer in a $400,000 extortion racket." "This vindicates the @INCPunjab consistent stand that the @BhagwantMann government is shielding tainted officers while weaponising the police against the Opposition," Warring alleged. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia said, "The FBI has charged Punjab Police SHO Gurinderjit Singh Nagra of Tanda Police Station in connection with a USD 400,000 extortion case." "Allegation is that the family was threatened in the United States, while their relatives in India were allegedly implicated in a false murder case. Just as the FBI sought the extradition of Goldy Brar, Lawrence Bishnoi, and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, a @PunjabPoliceInd officer has now also come under the FBI's scanner," Majithia said. Due to the alleged misdeeds of Mann and his coterie, the Punjab Police, once known for its reputation, has today become a symbol of global embarrassment, Majithia alleged. "The alleged nexus of AAP, gangsters and Punjab Police will be exposed before the world if the FBI takes this inspector to the United States, something many have been demanding," he said. Notably, the US has also charged Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster imprisoned in India, and his aide Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar for ordering the assassination of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. According to a federal indictment unsealed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Bishnoi ordered the killing of 45-year-old Nijjar, mentioned as 'HSN' in court documents. In a coordinated action named 'Operation Hardball', the law enforcement agencies of the US, Canada and Europe arrested 24 persons, 11 of them in California, connected to three India-based transnational organised crime groups charged with a litany of criminal acts, including Nijjar's assassination. PTI COR SUN VSD KSS KSS