Chandigarh [India], September 12 (ANI): Punjab Police has secured the extradition of fugitive criminal Amrit Dalam alias Amritpal Singh, a key operative linked to the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang, from Moldova, marking its first-ever extradition from a European country, the state police said.
According to Punjab Police, Dalam had fled India in October 2024 using a forged passport. After a six-month-long intelligence-led international manhunt under ‘Operation Eastern Reach’, he was detained in Moldova and taken into custody by a four-member Punjab Police team on September 11.
Police said Dalam faces 21 criminal cases, including those related to murder, attempt to murder, the Arms Act, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and extortion.
Punjab Police DGP said in a post on X that the extradition was a “major breakthrough against transnational organised crime” and described it as a significant milestone in the fight against organised crime.
The DGP said the operation was made possible through sustained surveillance and close coordination between the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Punjab and Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell (OFTEC) Punjab, along with central agencies and international partners.
He commended the AGTF and OFTEC teams for their efforts and thanked the Moldovan and Azerbaijani authorities, IPCU-CBI, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and other central agencies involved in the international cooperation.
The DGP said Punjab Police remained committed to ensuring that criminals, wherever they hide, are brought back to face the law.
Bikramjit Singh Brar, SP, AGTF, said the operation was launched as part of the campaign initiated by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav against gangsters and murders.
He said the operation was centrally managed by AGTF Chief Pramod Mann and OFTEC Chief Ashish Chaudhary, along with the IG, and involved coordination with various agencies.
“It was a six-month-long operation that was later centrally managed by AGTF Chief Shri Pramod Mann and OFTACK Chief Shri Ashish Chaudhary, along with the IG,” he said.
Brar said Dalam, who had been on the run since 2024, was brought to India from Moldova and that the extradition marked Punjab Police’s first successful extradition from Europe.
According to Punjab Police, Dalam had fled India in October 2024 using a forged passport. He was detained in Moldova and taken into custody by a four-member Punjab Police team on September 11.
Brar said the Hoshiarpur police team, including DSPs, had arrived as Dalam is wanted in a double murder case in the district.
“This marks the first extradition from Europe, and it’s Punjab Police’s very first successful extradition. He has quite a criminal background and a long record of crimes. Now, the Hoshiarpur team, including the DSPs, has arrived here, as he is wanted in a double murder case in Hoshiarpur,” he added.
The DGP thanked the Moldovan and Azerbaijani authorities, IPCU-CBI, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and other central agencies for their cooperation in securing the extradition. (ANI)