The Union Government on Friday said that it has not received any request from the United States seeking the extradition of Punjab Police officer Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, who was named by the US Department of Justice in an alleged cross-border extortion conspiracy linked to the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria transnational criminal syndicate.
Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha by Shiromani Akali Dal Member of Parlaiment Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said that the that central government became aware of the allegations following a July 7 press briefing by the US Department of Justice announcing ``Operation Hard Ball” and the related federal indictments.
"It has come to the notice of the government that, during a press briefing held by the US Department of Justice on July 7 in connection with a law enforcement action titled ``Operation Hard Ball” and related indictments, allegations were made that members of the Bhagwanpuria transnational criminal syndicate had conspired with a Punjab Police officer in connection with an extortion scheme involving a US-based Indian-origin family,’’ said the minister in his reply.
It was also clarified by the minister that no request for extradition of the said officer has been received from the US authorities till date. `` No request for extradition of the said officer has been received from the US authorities till date,’’ read the reply.
The reply also stated that as per the press statement issued on July 8 by the Office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jalandhar Range, the concerned officer was immediately relieved from his post as Station House Officer (SHO), Police Station Tanda. Following investigation, the officer was arrested on July 17 and departmental proceedings have been initiated.
This clarification by the union government comes a month after senior US Justice Department officials publicly alleged that the Punjab Police officer had conspired with members of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria syndicate to extort USD 400,000 from a US-based Indian-origin family by threatening to implicate their relatives in a fabricated murder case in Punjab.