Chandigarh, Sep 12 (PTI) Punjab Police has extradited a key operative of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang from the Republic of Moldova, a top police officer said on Saturday. Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said it was the first-ever extradition from Europe secured by the state police. Yadav said Amritpal Singh, alias Amrit Dalam, was wanted in multiple cases of murder, attempt to murder, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Arms Act, and narcotic offences. Singh was detained by the Moldovan authorities on February 24 while trying to cross the Otaci state border to Ukraine.  Subsequently, the Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell (OFTEC) of the Punjab Police began an extradition process to bring him to India. The Court of Chisinau granted extradition of Amritpal Singh to India on May 26. On July 16, an appeals court rejected his plea against extradition.

 "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.   The extradition was secured as part of the state police's Operation Eastern Reach, a six-month international manhunt, mounted in coordination with the Anti-Gangster Task Force and OFTEC with central agencies and international partners, Yadav said. A four-member Punjab Police team was sent to Moldova to bring back Amritpal. The team, led by Superintendent of Police, Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Bikramjit Singh Brar, comprised Inspector Pushvinder Singh, Sub-Inspector Jaspreet Singh and Assistant Sub-Inspector Varinder Kumar.The team took Amritpal into custody at Chisinau Airport, Moldova, on Friday, and landed at IGI Airport in New Delhi on Saturday morning, he said.   The officer thanked the Moldovan authorities, Azerbaijan Authorities, International Police Cooperation Unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation (IPCU-CBI), the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of External Affairs for help in the operation.  Additional Director General of Police, AGTF, Promod Ban, said Singh is wanted in cases of murder of Dalbir Singh in Batala in 2019, murders of Amrjeet Lal and Kashmiri Lal in Hoshiarpur in 2024, murder of Dharamjit Singh, alias Dharma, in 2025, murders of Kanav Mahajan and Sarabjit Singh, alias Kaka, in 2025 and murder of Jasdeep Singh, alias Deep Cheema, in 2025.

Amritpal had fled abroad in October 2024 using a fake passport prepared with the particulars of Haryana resident Gurpal. His movements were tracked across multiple countries while he was on the run, leading to a red corner notice against him, the ADGP said. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ashish Choudhary said that since the establishment of OFTEC, nine high-priority fugitives have been deported from different countries. Two extradition requests sent this year have succeeded, the earlier one being that of Amritpal Mehron from the UAE, he said.The IGP said the OFTEC is vigorously pursuing extradition of 11 other foreign-based fugitives.Punjab Police had set up OFTEC to expedite the extradition of foreign-based gangsters.

Agencies