Gangster-turned-political leader Gurpreet Singh Sekhon, 38, whose induction into the Aam Aadmi Party has triggered a political controversy, has a long criminal history spanning more than a decade.
He was also associated with the gang led by Shera Khubban and later with Vicky Gounder. The criminal cases listed in the dossier paint a picture of a career involving repeated allegations of violent and organised crime. There are also cases under the UAPA. Sekhon was named as a key accused in the case. Police accounts described Sekhon as a member of the rival gang and one of the main accused in the Kahlwan murder case. Besides Sekhon, others who fled were Vicky Gounder, Kulpreet Singh Neeta Deol, Amandeep Singh Dhotian, and Khalistan Liberation Force-linked inmates Harminder Singh Mintoo and Kashmir Singh.
Police records show 49 criminal cases registered against him, while a detailed criminal dossier available with Hindustan Times lists around 45 cases and FIRs involving allegations ranging from murder and attempt to murder to extortion, robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy and offences under the Arms Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Sekhon was first booked in 2012 under the Arms Act. Police records reveal that Sekhon had associations with 108 criminal associates, including Pakistan-based Khalistani terrorist Harvinder Singh Rinda. In 2021, both Sekhon and Rinda were booked by the Mohali SSOC for extortion. Among the offences invoked in the FIRs are Sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code (murder and attempt to murder), 384 (extortion), 392/395 (robbery/dacoity), 364 (kidnapping), 386 (extortion with threat of death or grievous hurt), criminal conspiracy, rioting and offences under the Arms Act. Sekhon first shot into notoriety with the sensational 2015 murder of gangster Sukha Kahlwan, who was shot dead while being transported in a police vehicle near Phagwara. He was arrested in March 2016 but was later acquitted as the police personnel who were witnesses in the case failed to recognise him during the trial. Sekhon is one of the plotters in the November 2016 Nabha high-security jailbreak, when an armed group attacked the prison, enabling six inmates to escape, according to police.
He subsequently became associated with the Jaipal Bhullar gang and later emerged as a close associate of several prominent Punjab gangsters, according to an earlier police account.
In 2013, Sekhon was active in Rajasthan and was booked in four cases, including a murder bid case in Kota City and a robbery in Tibbi, Hanumangarh. In 2023, he was booked for murder in Hoshiarpur. In 2025, Sekhon was booked in an FIR related to violation of the code for the panchayat polls.
However, it is not clear how many cases are still pending against him in court.
