NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday said it has managed to get a key associate of gangster Aman Sahu, Sunil Kumar, extradited from Azerbaijan.
According to officials in the CBI, Kumar was found to be allegedly involved in making extortion calls from Baku, as “the probe by agencies also revealed that he was working in alliance with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi."
In an official statement a spokesperson of the CBI said, “Kumar is wanted by the Jharkhand Police. The International Police Cooperation Unit (IPCU) of CBI, in collaboration with NCB-Baku, successfully brought back Kumar, against whom a red corner notice was also issued, to India on Saturday morning. A three-member team of Jharkhand Police went to Baku on August 19 to bring back Kumar.”
Incidentally, Kumar, who was apprehended in Datu, Azerbaijan, in October 2024, has over 50 criminal cases registered against him across Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Punjab.
A special team of the Jharkhand Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), along with Kumar, arrived at CSMI Airport, Mumbai, on Saturday morning from Azerbaijan, the CBI official said, adding that the team travelled to Azerbaijan to complete the formalities under the extradition treaty between the two nations.
Probe has so far revealed that Kumar is an integral part of the Aman Sahu gang and was using the fake name Mayank Singh to commit crimes.
“Kumar is wanted by the Jharkhand Police in a case registered at Patratu, Bhadaninagar Police Station, in 2022 on the allegations of sending threatening messages via WhatsApp and demanding extortion money. Kumar has also been threatening business personnel, coal transporters and railway contractors for extorting money. Several cases have been registered against him in various states in India,” the CBI official said.
According to the CBI, Aman Sahu is a gangster from Jharkhand whose associates are operating as an organised criminal gang.
On March 11, Sahu was killed in an encounter in Jharkhand’s Palamu district when he tried to escape custody after the police vehicle in which he was being transported from Chhattisgarh’s Raipur jail to Ranchi was attacked by his gang members.
The officials said the CBI got the Red Core Notice published through Interpol in this case after receiving a request from the Jharkhand Police on October 10 last year.
“An Extradition Request was sent to the Azerbaijan authorities on January 7 this year through diplomatic channels. Subsequently, a Team of Jharkhand Police was formed to bring back Kumar from Azerbaijan,” the CBI official said.