Punjab gangster Gurwinder alias Afridi brought back from Ethiopia after 10-month hunt

Punjab Police have brought back Gurwinder alias Afridi, a wanted gangster who allegedly ran killings and extortion in the State from abroad, after he was detained in Ethiopia and deported to India. He was taken into custody when he landed at Delhi airport on Sunday, 8 November.

Afridi is described by the police as a leader of the Doni Bal–Prabh Dassuwal gang. Preliminary investigation shows he directed targeted killings, firing incidents linked to extortion and other organised crime in Punjab while living overseas, according to the police. Punjab had offered ₹5 lakh to anyone who helped lead the police to him.

The operation, which the police named Operation Shahid, was led by the Punjab Police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force with its Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell and central agencies. Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said it took ten months of intelligence gathering, surveillance and tracking across several countries in Asia, South America and Africa. Afridi was detained in Ethiopia on 6 November. Mr. Yadav thanked the Ministry of External Affairs and central agencies for their help.

The bigger picture

Several of Punjab’s most wanted gangsters operate from abroad, using phone calls and local recruits to order extortion and shootings back home. Bringing them back depends on cooperation from the countries where they hide, and deportations of this kind remain rare.

What’s next

Afridi will be questioned in the cases registered against him in Punjab, and police are expected to seek his custody from a court.