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NEW DELHI: Delhi Police have arrested wanted gangster Harsimran, a close aide of foreign-based gangster Goldy Dhillon, after he was deported from Bangkok for allegedly fleeing India on a fake passport, officials said on Saturday.Officials said that the accused left India in January using a forged passport issued in the name of “Rajesh Singh” from Gorakhpur. With help from Dhillon’s network and human traffickers, he travelled to Bangkok, later attempting to reach Dubai, the US and Europe.His attempts to enter Europe through Azerbaijan and later the Belarus-Latvia-Poland route failed, leading to deportations.After returning to Bangkok for a visa extension, he was detained by local authorities following alerts from the agencies. He is currently under interrogation.The forged passport was revoked by the Ministry of External Affairs, paving the way for his deportation on Wednesday. He was arrested on arrival at Delhi airport and booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Arms Act.A “bad character” of Shalimar Bagh police station, Harsimran faces 23 criminal cases, including extortion, murder and attempt to murder, news agency PTI reported. He was convicted in two cases and allegedly threatened a key witness, demanding Rs 50 lakh to turn hostile. A fresh FIR was registered against him in Mukherjee Nagar earlier this year. After securing bail, he stopped attending court hearings in at least 14 cases.Police said he initially began as a wrestler in Delhi and Maharashtra before entering organised crime through local gangs in Burari and Sagarpur, eventually aligning with Dhillon’s group to set up international operations.Investigators had been tracking him since the arrest of Mahender Singh in a 2010 murder case, who revealed that the seized weapons were sourced by Harsimran. A Lookout Circular was issued and central agencies coordinated to locate him abroad, they added.Dhillon, who is currently operating from Europe, is a key figure linked to multiple international extortion and firing cases, including the shootings at comedian Kapil Sharma’s Kap’s Café in Canada earlier this year. Police said that he has been trying to expand his gang’s network overseas with the support of associates like Harsimran. The crime branch had earlier arrested Bandhu Maan Singh Shekhon, another key Dhillon aide, for his alleged role in three attacks on the restaurant between July and October. The shootings were carried out using automatic weapons.
