Haryana STF brings back fugitive gangster from Georgia

Haryana Police extradited gangster Vainket Garg from Georgia, marking India's first such success, amid his 34 criminal cases in Haryana and Chandigarh.

The Haryana Police special task force (STF) has secured the extradition of most-wanted gangster Vainket Garg from Georgia, making it the first such successful extradition from the eastern European country to India), senior officers said on Thursday.

Gurugram Police Special Task Force with gangster Venkat Garg who was arrested after his deportation from Georgia. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Garg, 29, was brought back to India on Thursday following several months of coordinated efforts involving central and foreign agencies, said the STF.

B. Satheesh Balan, inspector general (STF), said that with the latest extradition, the force has secured 10 deportations or extraditions of fugitives so far in 2026.

A resident of Chandana Colony in Naraingarh, Ambala district, Garg headed the ‘Vainket Garg gang’, which has around 53 members and is allegedly involved in murder, extortion and firing incidents across Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Panchkula and Chandigarh.

“Garg is a proclaimed offender and has 34 criminal cases registered against him in Haryana and Chandigarh for murder, attempted murder, extortion, organised crime and illegal possession and use of firearms,” Balan said.

According to the STF, Garg fled India on December 10, 2024, to the United Arab Emirates before moving to Georgia on January 26, 2025.

STF officials said they found that he had allegedly obtained a passport using forged documents and a fake residential address at Pyramid Urban Homes in Gurugram’s Sector 67. “A separate criminal case was registered in this connection at Naraingarh police station, and his passport was revoked in February 2025 on the recommendation of the STF,” Balan said.

Balan said 23 criminal cases had been registered against Garg before he left India in December 2024. Another 11 cases were registered later after investigators found that he was allegedly continuing to run criminal operations through associates while hiding abroad.

“Garg and his gang were behind the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Harbilas in Naraingarh and several firing incidents in Ambala and Yamunanagar to spread fear and collect extortion money,” he said.

For his extradition, the STF initiated legal and international measures, including the issuance of lookout circulars, an INTERPOL Red Corner Notice, multiple open-dated arrest warrants and the declaration of Garg as a proclaimed offender by a court.

“Input about his presence in Georgia was received through international law enforcement channels, following which the extradition process was initiated,” an official said.

Senior police officers said the operation was carried out with the assistance of the ministry of external affairs, the National Central Bureau (NCB), New Delhi, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the Indian embassies in Georgia and Kazakhstan. The Georgian government cooperated with the extradition, while Kazakhstan facilitated the transit of the accused, the STF said.

Officials said Garg will be produced before a court and taken on remand for interrogation in connection with the cases registered against him.