US charges Indian police officer for allegedly extorting Los Angeles family

The authorities in the United States on Tuesday charged Indian police officer Gurinderjit Singh for allegedly extorting $400,000 from a family in Los Angeles by threatening to file false murder cases against their relatives in India.

“I think he actually did file the murder charges against the family in India till the victim eventually agreed to pay the money,” First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli alleged at a press conference.

Essayli said that the police officer was not in custody, “but he will be shortly”. The US will seek the extradition of the officer from India, he added.

While the US authorities described Gurinderjt Singh as a “police chief”, it was unclear where he was posted. Singh is reportedly a station house officer in Punjab.

However, US federal indictments alleged that he colluded with members of an organised crime group led by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria to target perceived rivals with threats of false cases and demands for money, The Tribune reported.

The indictment alleges that in April, a California-based member of the Bhagwanpuria syndicate named Gurlal Singh threatened a victim in the United States before passing on the person’s details to a “corrupt law enforcement officer” in Punjab.

Gurinderjit Singh implicated the victim, as well as the victim’s father and sister in a murder case in Punjab in connection with the killing of a person in January, The Tribune reported.

Crackdown on Indian gangs

Gunder Preet Singh is among 37 defendants charged for organised crimes in three indictments unsealed on Tuesday, the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said. The charges are part of an action against India-based transnational gangs.

Those charged include gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar for organised crimes and ordering the 2023 killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

Bishnoi is in a Gujarat jail awaiting trial in several cases. Brar, whose real name is Satinderjeet Singh, is absconding.

The US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation has offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Brar. He is a designated terrorist in India under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Those charged in the US include two “who ran their global criminal syndicates while imprisoned” in India, the federal authorities stated.

The law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada and Europe arrested 24 persons allegedly linked to three India-based transnational organised crime groups, the authorities said. Eleven of them were arrested in California, and one each in Indiana and the state of Georgia.

Apart from those arrested in the US three defendants were held in Canada and one defendant in Spain. Seven defendants were already in custody.

The agencies are looking for 10 fugitives, seven of whom are in the US, two in India and one in Europe, the attorney’s office said.

The persons have been charged with several criminal acts.

The arrests on Tuesday – codenamed “Operation Hard Ball” – followed a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates, the attorney’s office said.

The groups are alleged to be involved in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion and the smuggling of narcotics, among other crimes “whose impact is especially felt in the Indian diaspora”.

During the investigation, the agencies seized about 1,000 kg of cocaine, 1 kg of heroin, $40,000 in cash and a dozen firearms.

Indian High Commissioner to Canada Dinesh Patnaik welcomed the charges and arrests, telling The Globe and Mail that New Delhi had been asking for North American countries to crack down on transnational gangs.

“For a long time, there was a feeling in India that the countries in North America have been turning a blind eye, but the very fact that now you’re taking action and the Americans are taking action is good news,” Patnaik was quoted as saying.

Asked whether New Delhi would extradite Bishnoi and others to the US, the diplomat told the newspaper that the Indian courts would decide once Washington submits formal requests.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.