FBI-indicted Punjab cop arrested for alleged ₹3.8 crore extortion bid

PUnjab constabulary inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, who was late indicted by the federal soldier Bureau of investigating (FBI) as constituent of ‘Operation Hard Ball’, was arrested on Saturday in Hoshiarpur district for allegedly trying to extort $400,000 ( ₹3.81 crore) from a family based in Los Angeles, officers said.He was produced in a Hoshiarpur court, which sent him to three-day police custody.The move comes a week after the FBI indicted Nagra and accused him of maintaining alleged links with gangsters. US prosecutors had said they would push for Nagra’s extradition after his arrest. “We have charged him, and we will extradite him into the US,” US attorney Bill Essayli said at a press briefing on July 8.Also Read | 'It's a shame': Opposition slams Sonam Wangchuk's removal from Jantar Mantar; BJP defends moveNagra, who served as station house officer in Tanda when the charges against him surfaced, was subsequently transferred to the police lines in Hoshiarpur.“Nagra has been placed under suspension and appropriate departmental proceedings have been initiated. The probe is ongoing,” Jalandhar range deputy inspector general (DIG) Naveen Singla said.The case against him was registered under Section 308 (extortion) of the BNS and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, said police. The FIR concerned the murder of Balwinder Singh, a hardware store owner based in Miani village in Tanda on January 15, and the sections were added after the indictment.Also Read | Iran's hardliners accuse leadership of ‘coup’ against Islamic Republic: ReportThe indictment by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), which were unsealed as part of FBI’s “Operation Hard Ball”, alleged that Nagra worked with the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang.It said that the matter arose after Balwinder Singh’s murder. A day after the killing, alleged gangsters Jashal Chambal and Gurlal Rudiana claimed responsibility for it. Hoshiarpur DSP Davinder Singh Bajwa and Nagra on May 24 announced the arrests of Gurman Singh and Sawaraj Singh in the case.The local police probe indicated that Balwinder Singh’s US-based son-in-law Gurpreet Singh allegedly planned the killing. Subsequently, police named him, his father Charanjit Singh and his sister as co-conspirators.The indictment said Nagra allegedly contacted Charanjit on April 13 and threatened to frame the family. He allegedly cited instructions from Gurlal Singh and tried to buy property in LA County between April 13 and June 5.