CHANDIGARH: Happy Passia, an alleged mastermind of 14 grenade attacks across Punjab and a wanted notorious gangster-turned-Khalistani terrorist is likely to be extradited from the United States to India.
Highly placed sources said that the US authorities have confirmed to the Indian security agencies that the extradition of Happy Passia, whose real name is Harpreet Singh, who is linked to Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and also has links with Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan has been approved.
However, there is no official confirmation in this regard.
In January this year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) put a reward of Rs 5 lakh on Passia in a case of the hand grenade attack in September last year on a house in Sector 10 of Chandigarh by two youths.
The attack targeted a retired Superintendent of Police, Jaskirat Singh Chahal, who served as the Station House Officer (SHO) in Nakodar in 1986, during which four sikh protesters were killed in police firing.
In 2021, Passia illegally entered the US through the Mexico border with the help of a human trafficking network and continued to coordinate terror activities from there.
Earlier in 2020, he had escaped to the UK with the help of a fake identity and stayed there for several months before he entered the US.
On April 17 this year, Passia was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) from Sacramento.
As per the FBI, he used burner phones to evade capture.
Passia was arrested by the US authorities after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Punjab Police, who had earlier confirmed that Passia was hiding in the United States.
The authorities had also issued a lookout notice and sent legal notices to his residence.
Earlier the Punjab Police had submitted a formal request to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for his extradition as Passia is accused of orchestrating at least 14 grenade attacks across the state targeting police stations, religious places and residences of public figures of which one of senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar.
Out of the 16 grenade attacks that took place in the state, his name has cropped up during investigations into at least 14 such attacks.
Sources said that Harpreet Singh hails from Passia village in the Amritsar district of Punjab, belongs to an agriculturalist family and is wanted in 17 criminal cases.
He was declared an absconder in the case registered on October 1 last year.
Since 2023 he is associated with Khalistani militant Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda, and they have been involved in setting up terror modules in Punjab.
He was named in a chargesheet filed before the special NIA court, along with Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda as Passia had a hand in multiple terror attacks and was wanted in many cases including those registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Arms Act, and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Last year during the questioning a number of associates of Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa, a Canada-based Khalistani terrorist and Rinda, NIA found that both the terrorists have stopped working together and Rinda has started working with Passia. His network is suspected of involvement in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in 2022, said sources.