As many as eight Indian-origin people, including Pavittar Singh Batala, a gangster from Punjab wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), have been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alongside multiple SWAT teams in the San Joaquin County of the California, USA, in connection with a gang-related kidnapping case, said officials.
Pavittar Singh Batala is the most-wanted Indian fugitive and a key member of the banned terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa International (BKI).
Those arrested have been identified as Dilpreet Singh, Arshpreet Singh, Amritpal Singh, Vishal, Pavittar Singh Batala, Gurtaj Singh, Manpreet Randhawa, Sarabjit Singh, said San Joaquin County Sheriff’s office in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Batala, is accused of carrying out terror activities in Indian and was involved in a series of criminal cases, including extortion, arms smuggling and murder in Punjab. Police had issued a red corner notice against him about six months ago.
He is also wanted in six cases registered in Amritsar police district and two in Batala police district. Batala was working along with Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode.
The sheriff’s office said the arrests were made from different parts of the US on July 12 in a case related to kidnapping and torture in San Joaquin County.
According to the sheriff’s office, the arrests were part of the FBI’s “Summer Heat” initiative, a nationwide campaign aimed at cracking down on violent offenders and gang members who pose threats to communities across the United States.
The arrested fugitives are facing a range of serious charges, including kidnapping, torture, false imprisonment, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, criminal conspiracy and violations under the Gang Act, according to media reports.
Those arrested are believed to have entered the US illegally and operated criminal enterprises in both the US and India.
“This takedown was part of the FBI’s Summer Heat initiative, a nationwide effort targeting violent offenders and gang members who terrorise our communities. Summer Heat reflects Director Patel’s commitment to the American people to crush crime and restore safety in neighbourhoods across the country,” the statement added.
Notably, in June, NIA had named Batala, along with Jatinder Joti and designated BKI terrorist Lakhbir Landa, in a chargesheet. The arrests followed a multi-agency investigation, with Special Weapons and Tactics teams detaining them. According to Indian intelligence, all suspects are part of a gangster-terror network.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Stockton Police Department SWAT, Manteca Police Department SWAT, Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office SWAT, and the FBI SWAT Team, seized several illegal weapons during the raids, including five handguns (one a fully-automatic Glock), an assault rifle, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, high-capacity magazines, and over $15,000 (around Rs 13 lakh) in cash.
In recent years, several khalistani terrorists and gangsters have made the US and Canada their hideout to escape legal actions back home. These notorious elements enter these North American nations illegally and continue their terror activities in India.
