Several of those who would be extradited are not ‘high-profile’, but have been carrying out criminal activities while staying low.
NEW DELHI: India is likely to see multiple high profile extraditions of wanted criminals from the United States in the coming months, including those on the wanted list that India’s National Investigation Agency had shared earlier with officials in Washington. A revised list is also in the process of being prepared for the same purpose.
Those alleged criminals who are on the wanted list of NIA and are moving between the United States and Canada include the proscribed Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is associated with the Sikhs for Justice and Satinderjit Singh, alias Goldy Brar, who is an accused in the murder of musician Sidhu Moose Wala.
Similarly, Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of criminal Lawrence Bishnoi, who is an accused in a firing at the home of Bollywood actor Salman Khan, and who is presently detained at a prison in Iowa, is likely to be on the list of those whose extradition India has sought.
Sources said several names who would be impacted by the increased cooperation between the two countries and would be extradited are those who are not “high-profile” but have been carrying out criminal activities while staying low.
It is pertinent to mention that while announcing the extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawur Rana during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US, President Donald Trump had indicated that Rana’s extradition would be followed by many more as Delhi had already shared “quite a few requests”.
The “soft” treatment of criminals wanted by India in the US was one of the issues that reportedly came up for discussion.
Quite a few of them, official sources said, are those who are facilitating the Khalistani separatist movement while changing their location between the US and Canada. This includes Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa of Babbar Khalsa International.
In September last year, the NIA had released a list of almost 40 wanted gangsters, who were based in the US and Canada and were involved in killings, extortions, and running crime syndicates.
As per the numbers shared by the Ministry of External Affairs, only 11 fugitives were extradited from the US to India between 2002 and 2018. Around 55 more requests are pending, which do not include the wanted gangsters for whom Indian officials have not yet sought extradition. The possibility of some of these gangsters, who are located in the much “safer” Canada likely to be brought to the US soil and then sent to India, is not ruled out.