An American man has been detained in the US after being accused of planning terrorist attacks in the northeastern state of Punjab.
Harpreet Singh was detained by the FBI and Enforcement and Removal Operations ( ERO ) in Sacramento on Friday, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ).
According to the FBI, Singh had connections to two global criminal organizations, entered the country illegally, and used burner phones to avoid arrest.
Singh is being held, but he has not already made any comments on the claims.
The FBI described Singh as an “alleged criminal responsible for terror strikes in Punjab, India” in a blog on X.
Singh is connected to 14 of 16 bomb attacks in Punjab over the past seven months, which targeted police posts, spiritual establishments, and public buildings, according to local advertising.
In connection with a bomb strike on a home in Chandigarh City in 2024, Singh, who is also known as Happy Passia, is being sought exclusively by Indian government.
The attack targeted a retired Punjab police officer, according to India’s National Investigation Agency ( NIA ).
The NIA announced a reward of 500, 000 rupees ($ 5, 855, and$ 44414 ) for anyone who shared information about Singh in January.
The NIA filed official charges against four people, including Singh, in March for the attack.
The four belonged to Babbar Khalsa International ( BKI), a militant group that wants to establish a state of Khalistan in the Punjab region, according to a statement from the NIA. BKI is a criminal organization, according to India.
The declaration also listed Singh and Harwinder Singh Sandhu, also known as Rinda, as “terrorists” and the two people as the “primary managers and masterminds behind the attack.”
They had provided India-based on-ground employees in Chandigarh with logistical support, evil money, weapons, and ammunition for the rocket attack, the statement read.
It added that studies had revealed that Singh and Sandhu had planned the plot to” reach terror among law enforcement officials and the general public.”
Sandhu’s movements are unknown, and the NIA has listed him as a “most wanted” think.
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