Centre Clarifies No US Extradition Request For Punjab Police Officer Gurinderjit Singh Nagra

The Centre has clarified that it has not received any request from the United States seeking the extradition of Punjab Police officer Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, who was named by the US Department of Justice in an alleged cross-border extortion conspiracy linked to the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria transnational criminal syndicate. The clarification was given in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in response to a question from Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

According to the minister's reply, the central government became aware of the allegations following a July 7 press briefing by the US Department of Justice concerning “Operation Hard Ball” and related federal indictments. US authorities had alleged that members of the Bhagwanpuria transnational criminal syndicate conspired with a Punjab Police officer in an extortion scheme involving a US-based Indian-origin family. The allegations were made as part of the US law enforcement action and related proceedings.

Kirti Vardhan Singh specifically stated that no extradition request concerning Nagra had been received from US authorities as of the time of the government's response. The clarification comes after the US Justice Department publicly alleged that the Punjab Police officer had been involved with members of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria syndicate in an alleged attempt to extort USD 400,000 from a US-based Indian-origin family. The alleged scheme reportedly involved threats to implicate relatives of the family in a fabricated murder case in Punjab.

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The Punjab Police had initiated action against Nagra after the allegations came to light. A July 8 statement from the Office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jalandhar Range, said the officer was immediately relieved of his position as Station House Officer of Police Station Tanda. Following an investigation into the allegations, Nagra was arrested on July 17, according to the Centre's response in Parliament. Departmental proceedings have also been initiated against him.

The government's clarification distinguishes between the allegations made by US authorities and any formal extradition process involving the Punjab Police officer. While the United States has publicly linked Nagra to the alleged extortion conspiracy, the Centre said no extradition request has been received from Washington so far. The matter remains subject to investigations and legal and departmental proceedings in India, while the US allegations form part of the federal case linked to the alleged activities of the Bhagwanpuria criminal syndicate.

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