Gangster Goldy Brar's parents arrested in extortion case in Punjab amid crackdown on organised crime

PUnjab constabulary feature taken into custody the parents of fleer mobster Satinderjeet Singh assumed name Goldy Brar in connection with an extortion case registered last year in Muktsar district, officials confirmed on Monday. Senior Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Rana identified the arrested individuals as Brar’s father, Shamsher Singh, and his mother, Preetpal Kaur.Police said the couple resides in Adesh Nagar, a residential locality in Muktsar town, though the family originally belongs to neighbouring Faridkot district, news agency PTI reported. The arrests stem from an FIR lodged in 2024 following a complaint by a local Muktsar resident who alleged extortion-linked threats.ALSO READ | Mohali: Gangster Pawan Shaukeen booked for extortion, threatening local SAD leaderGoldy Brar, who is among the prime accused in the 2022 killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, had publicly claimed responsibility for the murder, according to investigators. The action against Brar’s family comes amid an intensified state-wide campaign targeting organised crime networks with overseas handlers, Punjab Police officials said, as per the report.Under this crackdown, police have identified nearly 60 foreign-based gang leaders and mapped the activities of around 1,200 associates and more than 600 family members suspected of facilitating criminal operations. Brar, or Satinderjeet Singh, is believed to have relocated to the United States after spending several years in Canada, where he initially travelled on a student visa.ALSO READ | Goldy Brar: Punjab cop’s son is now Canada’s most wantedAccording to police records, Brar moved abroad in 2017 and gradually rose from local gang rivalries in Punjab to running a transnational crime syndicate, HT reported earlier. Investigators said Brar was earlier associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang but split from it last year and now operates under a new alliance involving Rohit Godara and Kala Jatheri, the PTI report stated.Extortion racket linked to Brar busted in PunjabIn a separate but related development, Ludhiana police recently dismantled an inter-state extortion and illegal arms network allegedly operating on Brar’s instructions from abroad. As many as 10 operatives were arrested in that case, and police recovered 12 sophisticated firearms, including Glock and Zigana pistols, during raids across Punjab. Police officials said some of the weapons were arranged from inside Ludhiana Central Jail.Who is Goldy Brar?Background records showed that Brar is the son of a former Punjab Police assistant sub-inspector, Shamsher Singh, who took premature retirement in 2021. Brar’s father had earlier been arrested in March 2021 in an extortion case, with police alleging he conducted reconnaissance on potential targets for his son, as reported by HT earlier. Authorities said Brar was designated a terrorist in 2024 under India’s anti-terror law for his alleged role in facilitating the smuggling of high-grade weapons, ammunition and explosives into India using drones. Despite multiple cases of murder, extortion and terror-related offences registered against him, Brar continues to evade arrest while directing operations from overseas, officials said.(With inputs from PTI)