New Delhi, August 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Indian agencies have facilitated the deportation of 51 “hardened criminals” in 2026, the Union Home Ministry said on Monday, highlighting the government’s intensified efforts to bring fugitives accused of serious offences back to India.
The ministry’s statement came after Indian agencies, in coordination with Punjab Police, secured the deportation of three alleged operatives of the Davinder Bambiha gang from Malaysia on August 19.
The three accused — Jaspreet Singh, Ajay Singh and Pawandeep Singh — were apprehended in Malaysia and deported to India before being handed over to the police, according to the Home Minister’s Office.
The ministry said the three were linked to the Bambiha gang and accused of offences including extortion, cross-border arms and narcotics trafficking, as well as involvement in a foiled grenade attack in Ludhiana.
“Under Modi Ji’s vision of a safe and secure India, our agencies have facilitated the deportation of 51 hardened criminals in 2026 alone,” the Home Minister’s Office said in a post on X.
The latest operation is part of a broader government effort to track and bring back Indian fugitives staying abroad. The Centre had earlier said that 274 fugitive criminals had been brought back from 36 countries between 2019 and July 2026.
The Ministry of Home Affairs attributed the progress to strengthened legal provisions, greater international cooperation, coordination among multiple agencies and technology-driven investigations.
The ministry said tackling fugitive offenders had been made a “national priority” under the Modi government, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah describing the issue as one connected with India’s sovereignty, economic stability, law and order and national security.
According to the MHA, the government’s strategy rests on three broad pillars — global outreach, stronger inter-agency coordination and diplomacy.
The legal framework for pursuing absconding offenders has also been strengthened through measures including the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, amendments to the National Investigation Agency Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2019, and provisions under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita allowing trials in absentia under Sections 355 and 356.
To further strengthen international cooperation, the government launched BHARATPOL in January 2025. The platform connects more than 1,400 state and central law-enforcement agencies with INTERPOL, according to the Home Ministry.
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