FBI Seeks Punjab SHO’s Extradition Over Alleged Extortion Tied To Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Gang

8th July 2026 at 4:15 PM

2 minutes read

New York : US authorities are preparing to seek the extradition of an Indian police officer posted as Station House Officer (SHO) of Tanda police station in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur after he was charged with allegedly extorting $400,000 from a family in Los Angeles. According to federal indictments unsealed in Los Angeles, Punjab Police officer Gurinderjit Singh allegedly worked with members of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria crime syndicate in the US to extort victims in India through threats of false criminal complaints.

Punjab Police said in a statement on Wednesday that it had “taken cognisance of certain news reports and social media posts” referring to claims made by the FBI against Inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra. Pending verification of the facts, the officer has been shifted from Police Station Tanda to Police Lines, Hoshiarpur, with immediate effect, the statement said. It added that a formal fact-finding enquiry had been ordered by the DIG, Jalandhar Range, and assigned to the Superintendent of Police (Investigation), Jalandhar Rural.

According to US broadcaster Fox 11, American authorities plan to formally seek the extradition of several accused currently in Indian custody, including gang leaders Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria. In addition, US authorities are pursuing two other fugitives believed to be in India, one of whom was identified by First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli as Gurinderjit Singh, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The indictment alleges that in April 2026, Gurlal Singh, an Indian national unlawfully present in the US and based in Stockton, California, threatened a victim in America and then shared the victim’s personal details with a corrupt Punjab police officer. Prosecutors alleged that the information was then used to falsely implicate the victim, the victim’s father and the victim’s sister in the January 2026 murder of a person identified only as “BS” in court documents in India.

While the indictment initially referred only to a “corrupt law enforcement officer” in Punjab, US authorities later identified him as Gurinderjit Singh, the SHO of a Punjab police station, according to the Los Angeles Times. At a press conference in Los Angeles, First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said Gurinderjit Singh was part of an extortion conspiracy tied to the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria syndicate. “He extorted a family here in the US for $400,000,” Essayli said. “He was going to charge their family in India for murder.

A key allegation in the indictment is that the syndicate “corrupted law enforcement officers in India and partnered with corrupt government officials” to facilitate extortion schemes and target perceived rivals. Prosecutors alleged the group supplied false information to Indian police, which was then used to launch baseless criminal cases against rivals and suspected informants.