The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has named Punjab Police Inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra in an alleged international extortion racket. U.S. authorities have accused Mr. Nagra of involvement in a $400,000 extortion case, alleging that he worked in concert with the Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gangs to target families based in the United States.
Gurinderjit Singh Nagra was serving as the Station House Officer (SHO) of Tanda police station in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district. Following social media reports alleging his involvement in an extortion case being investigated by the FBI, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Hoshiarpur, ordered his immediate transfer to the Police Lines in Hoshiarpur.
The SSP said the move was a precautionary measure and that a fact-finding inquiry had been initiated to verify the allegations.
Following reports that Mr. Nagra had been named in an FBI indictment, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Jalandhar Range, assigned the inquiry to the Superintendent of Police (Investigation), Jalandhar Rural, to ensure an impartial probe.
The Punjab Police also ordered a fact-finding inquiry after taking cognisance of media reports and social media posts linking Mr. Nagra to allegations contained in a U.S. federal indictment against members of an India-based organised crime syndicate. The inquiry officer has been directed to examine all relevant facts and allegations. The Punjab Police said any further legal action would depend on the findings of the inquiry.
In a statement, the office of the DIG, Jalandhar Range, said it had taken cognisance of “news reports and social media posts referring to the alleged naming of Inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, presently posted as SHO, Police Station Tanda, Hoshiarpur district, in connection with an extortion-related investigation reportedly undertaken by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under ‘Operation Hard Ball’.”
“Pending verification of the facts, Inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra has been shifted from Police Station Tanda to Police Lines, Hoshiarpur, with immediate effect,” the statement said.
It added that further action, if warranted, would be taken strictly in accordance with the law on the basis of the inquiry findings.
The transfer of Mr. Nagra came a day after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced a coordinated international crackdown on India-based transnational organised crime groups.
According to reports, the indictment alleges that gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria operated a criminal syndicate from an Indian prison and that Gurinderjit Singh, identified as a police officer in Punjab, attempted to implicate a U.S.-based family in a fabricated murder case in India. He was named in connection with an extortion-related investigation by U.S. authorities.
The indictment alleges that the victims were pressured to pay $400,000 as part of an extortion scheme that relied on false criminal proceedings in India to coerce them.
Addressing a press conference in the United States, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the police officer “is not in custody yet but he will be shortly.” “We have charged him and we will extradite him to the U.S.,” he said.
According to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, the officer is accused of working closely with Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, 38, a Punjab-based gangster currently imprisoned in India. Bhagwanpuria, once an associate of Lawrence Bishnoi, later became his rival and established his own criminal network in Punjab.
The statement said the Bhagwanpuria gang operates as a transnational criminal syndicate headquartered in India, with members spread across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
“To expand its power, this group corrupted law enforcement officers in India and partnered with corrupt government officials, including to assist in extortion schemes. It also provided false information to law enforcement officers in India regarding alleged crimes,” the Department of Justice said.
Detailing the allegations against the police officer, the statement said that in April 2026, Gurlal Singh, 22, of Stockton, California, an alleged member of the Bhagwanpuria syndicate and an undocumented immigrant from India, threatened a victim and then shared the victim’s name with a corrupt law enforcement officer in Punjab.
“This ultimately led to the victim, the victim’s father, and the victim’s sister being falsely accused of the January 2026 murder of a victim in India identified in court documents as ‘B.S.’ It also led to the corrupt law enforcement officer in India extorting the victim and the victim’s father in connection with that pending murder case,” the statement said .Mr. Essayli alleged that the police officer had extorted about $400,000 from a family in Los Angeles.
The political atmosphere in Punjab intensified after the FBI named a Punjab Police inspector in the alleged international extortion case. Opposition parties targeted the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), describing the episode as evidence of a complete breakdown of law and order in the State.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia launched a sharp attack on the Bhagwant Mann government, saying that a serving police officer had come under the scrutiny of a leading U.S. investigative agency. He alleged that the case pointed to a deeper nexus involving the AAP, gangsters and sections of the police force.
Congress leader Vijay Inder Singla said the disclosures made under the FBI’s “Operation Hard Ball” exposed a State-gangster nexus that had flourished under the AAP government. He said that while international law enforcement agencies were pursuing those accused, Punjab’s law and order machinery had collapsed.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Punjab unit president Kewal Singh Dhillon said people in the State were seeking answers from a government that had promised change but failed to deliver. “Countless families have been devastated by drugs, gun violence and murders, yet the government continues to remain indifferent,” he alleged in a statement.
Published - July 09, 2026 02:09 pm IST