Tarsem Singh, the brother of Canada-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) leader Lakhbir Landa, was brought to India on Friday from the UAE. The extradition formalities to bring Tarsem Singh to India were completed by federal agencies in collaboration with the Interpol, reports said.
It was officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) that coordinated with the Interpol unit in Abu Dhabi to bring Singh to India, Hindustan Times said in a report. After the terrorist was geolocated in the UAE, an NIA security mission made the trip to complete the procedure ahead of extradition, the report added.
Tarsem Singh was involved in planning the RPG attack at the Punjab Police intelligence headquarters in 2022. The Khalistani terrorist was taken into custody upon arrival by the NIA on arrival, reports said.
"Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran in Punjab and the real brother of designated terrorist Lakhbir Landa, had a non-bailable warrant (NBW) of arrest against him since June 2023. He was a key member of BKI and an important terror node of designated terrorists Harwinder Singh Rinda (based in Pakistan) and Landa (based in Canada) in the UAE," NIA reportedly said in a statement.
He was “actively involved in arranging and providing terror funds to India-based associates of Rinda and Landa. He was also involved in the channelisation of terror funds through multiple routes,” the agency added.
A red notice was issued against Tarsem Singh in November 2023 which in turn led to his nabbing later in the month.
It was in May 2022 that BKI planned RPG attack against the Punjab Police intelligence headquarters in Mohali. The probe agency had registered a case suo motu on August 20, 2022, to probe terror activities of chiefs/members of proscribed terrorist organisations, such as Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and BKI and International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF).
"These outfits are working through operatives/members of terror outfits and organised criminal gangs to smuggle arms, ammunition, explosives, IEDs from across the border.
"They have been using, narcotics trafficking, extortions, hawala trading to generate funds for carrying out terrorist activities on Indian soil, NIA investigations so far have revealed," an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.