US deportee from Ludhiana arrested over pending non-bailable warrants, hours after landing

US deportee from Ludhiana arrested over pending non-bailable warrants, hours after landing

Just hours after his deportation from the United States, 26-year-old Gurwinder Singh from Sasrali Colony, Meharban, was arrested by Ludhiana Police on Sunday for pending non-bailable warrants related to a 2021 snatching case.

According to an Indian Express report, Gurwinder was part of the second batch of deportees who arrived at Punjab’s Amritsar International Airport from the US late on Saturday. Upon returning to Ludhiana, he was detained by local authorities at Meharban Police Station for routine verification.

During verification, police found out Gurwinder’s criminal history. He had been implicated in three criminal cases, including two alleged snatching incidents registered at Ludhiana’s Jamalpur Police Station in 2021 and 2022. He was also involved in a robbery case in Faridkot.

In 2021, Gurwinder was charged with looting a labourer. The following year, he was again accused of robbing two men of Rs 500 and mobile phones. In a separate incident in July 2022, Gurwinder and his accomplices allegedly broke into a home in Faridkot, robbing a woman of Rs 15.50 lakh and jewellery, leaving her injured.

A case was registered at Faridkot City Police Station.

Gurwinder, a graduate and the son of a Punjab Police officer, had been absconding for some time.

Police said that non-bailable warrants had been issued for Gurwinder's arrest due to his absence from court hearings in the 2021 snatching case.

Gurwinder was arrested and remanded to 14 days in judicial custody.

Gurwinder had been acquitted in one of the Jamalpur cases but was declared a proclaimed offender in two others after repeatedly missing court dates.

Gurwinder's wife, Hardeep Kaur, claimed that the charges against him were false, suggesting his political involvement with the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and its leader Simranjit Singh Mann.

She further said that Gurwinder had left for the US in 2024 after disputes with his family and had paid Rs 45 lakh to agents who helped him cross the US-Mexico border.

Gurwinder had fled India with the help of an agent in Lucknow who provided him with fake documents, sources said. His wife said that the agents had promised quick passage, but the journey took months, coinciding with Donald Trump’s presidency.

Despite concerns about Trump’s immigration policies, they had taken the risk of sending Gurwinder to the US, unaware of the harsh deportation measures under the new administration.