CBI Coordinates Extradition Of Fugitive Punjab Gangster From Moldova

September 12, 2026

Chandigarh: In a first-ever extradition from Europe and a major breakthrough against transnational organised crime, Punjab Police, with the assistance of central agencies, secured the extradition of fugitive criminal Amritpal Singh, alias Amrit Dalam, a key operative of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang, from Moldova, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Saturday.

He is wanted in multiple cases of murder, attempt to murder, offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Arms Act and Narcotic offences, among others, the DGP wrote on X.

First-ever extradition from Europe secured by Punjab Police

In a major breakthrough against transnational organised crime, Punjab Police with the assistance of central agencies has secured the extradition of fugitive criminal Amritpal Singh @ Amrit Dalam, a key operative of the… pic.twitter.com/Sr8rhVv1Xv

— DGP Punjab Police (@DGPPunjabPolice) September 12, 2026

The DGP said this was the first-ever extradition secured by Punjab Police from a European country, marking a significant milestone in the fight against organised crime.

Amritpal Detained In Moldova In February

Accused Amritpal was detained by Moldovan authorities on February 24 while he was attempting to cross the Otaci state border towards Ukraine. Following this, the extradition process against him was initiated through the Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell (OFTEC), Punjab.

During the proceedings, the Court of Chisinau granted the extradition of Amritpal to India on May 26. His appeal against the extradition order was also rejected by the Court of Appeal Centru on July 16, thereby making the extradition order final.

DGP Yadav said that following the extradition order, a four-member team of Punjab Police was sent to Moldova to bring the accused back to India.

The team, led by Superintendent of Police (Anti-Gangster Task Force-AGTF) Bikramjit Singh Brar, comprised Inspector Pushvinder Singh, Sub-Inspector Jaspreet Singh and ASI Varinder Kumar.

The accused was taken into custody by the Punjab Police team from Chisinau Airport in Moldova on Friday and arrived at IGI Airport in New Delhi on Saturday, he said. The accused is being brought back to face the law in Punjab.

“This is the first-ever extradition secured by Punjab Police from a European country, marking a significant milestone in our fight against organised crime,” said the DGP.

He added that the operation marked the successful culmination of ‘Operation Eastern Reach’, a six-month-long intelligence-led international manhunt involving sustained surveillance, strategic intelligence gathering and close coordination with national and international agencies.

Accused Wanted In At Least Seven Murder Cases

While commending the efforts of AGTF Punjab and OFTEC, the DGP also thanked the Moldovan authorities, Azerbaijan authorities, International Police Cooperation Unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation (IPCU-CBI), Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and all other central agencies involved in the international cooperation.

Additional Director General of Police (AGTF) Promod Ban said the accused is wanted in at least seven murder cases.

These include the murder of Dalbir Singh in Batala in 2019; the double murder of Amrjeet Lal and Kashmiri Lal in Hoshiarpur in 2024; the murder of Dharamjit Singh, alias Dharma, in 2025; the double murder of Kanav Mahajan and Sarabjit Singh, alias Kaka, in 2025; and the murder of Jasdeep Singh, alias Deep Cheema, in 2025.

The accused had fled abroad in October 2024 using a fake passport prepared on the particulars of Gurpal, son of Hira Singh, a resident of Kurukshetra, Haryana, he said.

The accused gangster’s movements were tracked across multiple countries while he was on the run, said the ADGP. Punjab Police had issued a Red Notice against the accused and shared inputs regarding his fake passport and whereabouts with central agencies at different intervals, which subsequently led to his extradition.

OFTEC Pursuing 11 More Foreign-Based Fugitives

Inspector General of Police (Counter Intelligence) Ashish Choudhary said that since the establishment of OFTEC, nine high-priority fugitives have been deported from different countries in addition to the current extradition.

Due to the efforts of the cell, two extradition requests sent this year have resulted in success, with the earlier case being that of Amritpal Mehron from the UAE, he said.

He said OFTEC is vigorously pursuing extradition matters involving 11 other foreign-based fugitives.