Actively pursuing request to extradite Anmol Bishnoi’: Officials

“The US authorities already have an extradition request. Since he has already been detained, they just have to act on it,” said this officer.

An extradition request sent against Anmol Bishnoi ‘sometime back’ by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is being actively pursued through discussions with the US officials, who are being convinced that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s younger brother is involved in serious criminal activities, days after he was caught in California, people familiar with the development said.

Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother Anmol Bishnoi alias Bhanu

A US embassy spokesperson in Delhi, in a response to HT’s query, confirmed on Tuesday that “US embassy officials met Indian law enforcement partners to discuss this case, and the Embassy remains in close contact with Indian officials”.

In the extradition request, sent “sometime back”, according to an officer who refused to divulge the exact date, the NIA had claimed that Anmol, along with Goldy Brar – who is also suspected to be located somewhere in California – was raising funds to carry out terror or criminal activities through smuggling of drugs, weapons, widespread extortion and targeted killings of well-known social and religious leaders, movie stars, singers and businessmen. Besides, Anmol and Brar are in constant touch with pro-Khalistan elements based in Canada, US, Nepal, Pakistan and other countries.

“The US authorities already have an extradition request. Since he has already been detained, they just have to act on it,” said this officer.

Anmol is named as accused number 13 along with his brother in NIA’s March 24, 2023, charge sheet into the activities of their gang and larger involvement with Khalistani groups. In its charge sheet, NIA said that Anmol, along with Darmanjot Kahlon alias Darman Singh “handles from the USA the gang’s finance deals and logistics”. He also contacted gang members in India for extortion, harming the identified victim, and identified foot-soldiers for carrying out targeted killings, according to the charge sheet.

Anmol, according to officials, is wanted in around 18-20 cases, a large number of which were probed by anti-gangster task force of Punjab police, Mumbai police, NIA and Delhi Police. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) too is probing their activities under prevention of money laundering act (PMLA).

A second officer cited above said that Anmol was taken into custody last week as his travel document to the US had an anomaly. “The passport he used to travel was issued in 2021 from Delhi, in which his address is mentioned in Faridabad, Haryana while he is from Fazilka (Punjab),” said the second officer.

Meanwhile, the US State Department declined to comment on the potential deportation of Anmol. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday, “It would be appropriate if anyone is going to comment on such a report, it would be the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, not the State Department. I prefaced it that way because they may decline to comment, but I certainly am not going to comment on something that falls within their jurisdiction.”

Indian agencies have information that Satwinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar, who is a key ally of Lawrence Bishnoi, and could be even a bigger catch, is also living in California. There were reports in December 2022 that he was detained there but Indian law enforcement didn’t get any official word from the US at that time.