New Delhi, September 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has secured the return to India of Harnek Singh, an accused who had been absconding since 2013 in a case involving conspiracy, cheating, forgery and the use of forged documents as genuine, officials said.
Singh, against whom an Interpol Red Notice and a Look-Out Circular (LOC) were in force, was deported from the United States and apprehended by CBI officials after arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on September 9.
He is expected to be produced before the Court of the Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI Cases), Panchkula, Haryana, at the earliest.
The CBI, Delhi, registered the case in 2016 under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. The investigation found that in 2013, Indian nationals living or working in Singapore were allegedly targeted by fraudsters operating from India through spoofed telephone calls.
The accused allegedly impersonated officials of Singapore Immigration authorities and threatened victims with legal action and deportation. The victims were falsely told that they had provided incorrect information in their airport disembarkation forms and could face criminal prosecution. They were then allegedly induced to pay purported settlement fees or fines through Western Union Money Transfer to designated recipients in India.
The investigation established that the money allegedly obtained from the victims was received through a money-transfer outlet operated by Singh in association with co-accused Aditya Bhardwaj and Deepak Jain.
Officials said Singh fled India in May 2013 and later entered the US illegally, where he remained unavailable to Indian investigating and judicial authorities for more than a decade.
Proceedings against the other accused continued in India, with Bhardwaj and Jain eventually convicted by the Special Judicial Magistrate, CBI, Panchkula, on May 26, 2025.
Despite summons and a bailable warrant being served on Singh in the US through the US Department of Justice, he failed to appear before the trial court. The court subsequently issued an open-dated non-bailable warrant against him on April 22, 2024.
The CBI intensified efforts to locate and repatriate Singh through international law-enforcement channels. An Interpol Red Notice was subsequently published, while an LOC was opened against his passport to facilitate his apprehension.
Following his deportation, Singh was apprehended by CBI officials at the Delhi airport on September 9. The agency will now present him before the competent court in Panchkula.
Officials said the operation highlights the CBI’s continued efforts to pursue fugitive accused through international law-enforcement and diplomatic channels and ensure that those evading the legal process are brought before the courts, irrespective of the time elapsed.
FOLLOW NOW
