NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has brought a dreaded gangster Vikramjeet Singh alias Vikram Brar, a key aide of notorious jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, from the UAE and arrested him, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

Brar, a native of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, was involved in multiple cases linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang including targeted killings, extortion as well as killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in May 2022.

HT reported on July 6 that Interpol has issued a red notice, a global arrest warrant, against Brar.

People familiar with the development said Brar was detained by UAE authorities in Dubai. A team of NIA officials was sent to UAE to finalise the deportation formalities and brought him to Delhi.

The NIA statement, which referred to his arrest as a “big catch”, said Brar was wanted in 11 cases including the sensational killing of famous Punjabi Singer Shubhdeep Singh alias Sidhu Moosewala.

“Besides, targeted killings of innocent people/businessmen, he was involved in cases of smuggling of weapons and extortion in India with the help of dreaded gangsters – Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar (based in Canada) and others,” it said.

Vikram Brar had been absconding since 2020 and 11 lookout circulars had been issued against him at the request of states including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi.

In UAE, the agency said Brar operated a ‘communications control room’ (CCR) for the Lawrence Bishnoi terror gang.

“This CCR was also facilitating calls of Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar and further upon their directions, he used to make extortion calls to various people. Brar’s CCR also enabled calls of main gang leaders with the operatives/members,” the statement added.

According to NIA, Brar helped Goldy Brar kill Moosewala in 2022. “Lawrence Bishnoi had also sent extorted money many times to Brar through hawala channels. Brar had demanded extortion money from a doctor in Kurukshetra (Haryana) and also threatened him,” it said.

Before becoming a close associate of Bishnoi, Vikram Brar was associated with Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) in Punjab University. He actively participated in various crimes like murder, attempt to murder and extortions etc besides facilitating the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in targeted killings and extortion in Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, the agency said. “He was also providing logistic support to the gang members.”

An officer who didn’t want to be named said Brar also acted as a bridge between the Bishnoi gang and Khalistani terrorists. “Brar and Bishnoi studied together at Panjab University in Chandigarh and later became close friends. He is facilitating terror activities of the gang in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, and acting as a bridge between Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate and pro-Khalistani elements or PKEs,” this person said.

In the last 6-8 months, NIA has managed to bring five ‘wanted’ persons, either through deportation or extradition route, in collaboration with the central intelligence agencies and persistent follow-up with the authorities concerned in foreign countries.

Bikramjit Singh alias Bikkar Panjwar, the mastermind of 2019 Tarn Taran bomb blast, was successfully extradited from Austria in December 2022. “This was the first extradition case of its kind from a western country. Prior to this, the only other extradition since the setting-up of NIA, was that of Wuthikorn Naruenartwanich alias Willy in December 2015 from Thailand,” NIA said in its statement.

The other four deported accused in the last few months were wanted for serious and sensational crimes, such as the December 2021 Ludhiana court complex blast case etc. These deported fugitives include Kulwinderjit Singh alias Khanpuria of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Harpreet Singh alias Happy Malaysia, Parminder Pal Singh alias Bobby and Aboobacker Haji.

The anti-terror probe agency has so far arrested 16 persons in the gangsters-Khalistanis conspiracy case.