NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has arrested a 31-year-old key operative of a transnational arms trafficking and terror module. The accused, Harshpal Singh alias Rubal, is a close associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and Rohit Godara, officials said.
Police have recovered one high-end weapon along with five live cartridges, officials said on Wednesday. So far, 13 accused persons have been arrested and 24 foreign-made sophisticated weapons along with 216 live cartridges have been recovered. Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) have already been invoked in the case, and the entire network is backed by Pakistan’s ISI, officials said.
“Rubal runs a restaurant in Krishna Nagar. He is a close friend of co-accused Nishant Arora alias Noni, who has already been arrested in this case. He used to receive consignments of illegal arms and ammunition from Arora,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said.
As per the investigation, Rubal reportedly came into contact with gangster Rashid alias Cable, a known associate of the Lawrence Bishnoi–Rohit Godara syndicate, while in Dubai in 2023. This contact was allegedly facilitated through a common intermediary, Aakash Chauhan.
Dubai has increasingly surfaced in investigations as a networking ground for absconding operatives coordinating criminal activities targeting Indian businessmen and public figures. Thereafter, Rubal travelled to Bangkok to meet Rashid, officials said.
“Rubal is associated with online gambling operations, which served both as a financial stream and a networking channel within organised crime circuits. His involvement in digital betting ecosystems allegedly enabled him to establish contacts with individuals facing extortion threats as well as criminal handlers operating from abroad,” the DCP said.
After establishing contact with the network, Rubal allegedly began functioning as a mediator between the gang and victims who had received extortion calls. “Victims, primarily businessmen and financially well-placed individuals, were contacted via international numbers and threatened in the name of the gang. Rubal allegedly approached such victims portraying himself as a ‘settlement facilitator’ along with one Deepak alias Mama,” Yadav said.
He is suspected to have negotiated monetary settlements, acting as a crucial link between handlers abroad and victims in India. Further investigation is underway, the officials said.