The police remand of inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, who is behind bars in connection with a corruption and extortion case involving a US-based family, has been extended by one more day, police said on Tuesday.
Event Context
Nagra, who was arrested on Saturday, was produced in a court in Hoshiarpur’s Dasuya after his three-day police custody ended on Tuesday. He was taken through the back door to avoid media glare. He was recently indicted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as part of ‘Operation Hard Ball’ for allegedly trying to extort $400,000 ( ₹3.81 crore) from a family based in Los Angeles by threatening to implicate their relatives in Punjab in a murder case.
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According to the local police investigation, the murder was the outcome of a marital dispute involving Balwinder’s daughter and her US-based husband, Gurpreet Singh, who allegedly masterminded the hit. Consequently, police named Gurpreet Singh, his sister, and his father Charanjit Singh, a retired assistant sub-inspector of police, as co-conspirators.
The US indictment stated that Nagra had contacted Charanjit Singh in April and demanded money while threatening to frame the entire family.
Team Analysis
A senior official privy to the investigation said the investigation team has gathered enough corroborative evidence to substantiate that Nagra had received illegal gratification through a Jalandhar-based “hawala” racketeer purportedly sent by Charanjit Singh, one of the accused in the murder case registered at Tanda police station. “We are also looking into Nagra’s mobile phone history to gather further information about his alleged links with gangsters running such illegal extortion activities,” an official said.
Following his arrest, Nagra was formally named as an accused under Section 308 (extortion) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act in the FIR registered at the Tanda police station on January 16 in connection with the murder of Balwinder Singh in Miani village by three unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants on January 15.
During a press conference on May 24, Nagra and DSP Davinder Singh Bajwa announced the arrest of Gurman Singh and Sawaraj Singh, both residents of Panj Garayian village in Gurdaspur district, identifying them as the primary hitmen. The police officials said that both were associated with US-based gangster Gurlal Singh and had confessed to executing the contract killing for a payment of ₹1.8 lakh.
Match Outlook
“The investigation is still on as Nagra, so far, is found have received illegal gratification of ₹16 lakh in the case,” said Vineet Ahlawat, Jalandhar rural superintendent of police (investigation), who has been investigating the case. He added that further disclosures, if any, will be made later by senior officials.
Jalandhar range deputy inspector general (DIG) Naveen Singla had ordered a probe against the suspended Tanda SHO, Nagra, last week. He was initially shifted to the police lines in Hoshiarpur and Ahlawat was directed to investigate the matter.
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A day later, gangsters Jashal Chambal and Gurlal Rudiana claimed responsibility for the killing via a social media post on Rudiana’s profile.
