New Delhi: Working in cahoots with Canada-based Sikh separatists and managing sleeper cells, wanted terrorist Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dalla, a known aide of former Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, faces more than 53 cases in India. At least four of these are being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Canadian police have now arrested one Arshdeep Singh Gill, according to court documents.
But Halton police who made the arrest have yet to confirm if the individual in their custody is indeed gangster Arsh Dalla. ThePrint reached the Halton Regional Police Service seeking confirmation but had not received a response by the time of publication.
This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
On 29 October, HRPS said it charged two men—a 25-year-old from Halton Hills and a 28-year-old from Surrey—with discharge of firearms with intent. The probe reportedly revealed that the 28-year-old in question, believed to be Gill, was shot at by his own aide.
Indian police sources said Gill entered the world of crime like most other gangsters, by racking up extortion and attempted murder cases. At present, he is believed to be working with the Bambiha alliance, the rival syndicate of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Gill’s close associate, Sukhdool Singh alias Sukha Duneke was gunned down in Canada’s Winnipeg last September with a member of the Bishnoi gang claiming responsibility for it.
“Investigations have revealed that Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Arshdeep Singh lured the shooters to commit terror acts in return for arranging visas, splendid jobs, and handsome earnings for them in Canada. Initially, they were motivated for threatening and extorting money from businessmen in Punjab and subsequently they were radicalised and motivated for carrying out terrorist acts of killing persons of other faiths,” says an NIA chargesheet from last year.
ThePrint reported earlier on how one of two men arrested for allegedly beheading a man in Delhi last January was in touch with Gill, and had done so to prove allegiance to a Pakistan-based handler. “He (Gill) looks at recruiting young men to carry out terror activities in India,” a source in the Indian security establishment confirmed to ThePrint.
In October, amid friction in India-Canada ties soured by allegations levelled by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in connection with the Nijjar killing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson had specified in a press conference that at least 26 extradition requests and provisional arrest requests from New Delhi were pending with Ottawa.
Gill was among the five individuals the spokesperson mentioned by name.
Earlier, this year, India also reached out to Canadian authorities with Gill’s coordinates and other details but no action was taken in this regard.
Rise of Arsh Dalla
According to Indian security agencies, Gill, 28, was born in Dala village in Punjab’s Moga district and has been living in Surrey in Canada since 2018.
His brush with crime began sometime in 2014-2015.
Punjab Police’s dossier on him mentions that an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against him in 2022. According to sources in Indian security agencies, he met Nijjar and other members of the Sikh separatist group KTF after he moved to Canada. They met at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara of which Nijjar was president, sources added.
“Over time, after he moved to Surrey, Gill became embroiled in Sikh separatism. Bambiha gang members are funded and aided by Dalla and KTF members. Since Nijjar’s death, Dalla has been looking after KTF’s operations,” said a police source.
The reins of the Bambiha gang have been in the hands of overseas-based Gaurav alias Lucky Patial since gangster Davinder Bambiha’s killing in 2016.
According to the NIA, Gill operates sleeper cells part of a “major terror-gangster syndicate in India” through key players. He is also accused of carrying out targeted killings in India.
For instance, Gill and Nijjar are both suspected to be involved in the 2020 murder of Manohar Lal, a Dera Sacha Sauda follower.
Gill is also an accused in the killing of Jaswant Singh, a paroled murder convict who was killed in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior on 7 November. He was also accused of ordering the 2021 murder of Kamaldeep Sharma, a Hindu priest who was gunned down in Jalandhar.
Earlier this year, Gill also claimed responsibility through a purported social media post for the murder of Baljinder Singh Balli, a local Congress leader in Punjab’s Moga.
“I am responsible for the murder of Balli in Dala village because it was my own village’s politics which made me tread this path. This man (Balli) was responsible for keeping my mother in CIA (police) custody for a week and also got my friends arrested. He was hand in glove with the police … and got my home vandalised. He destroyed my home just to gain his own afsar shaahi (officialdom) … My life’s aim was not to live my own life but to kill him. If we wished, we would have killed his child too but that child was nowhere at fault … Those sympathising with him, their homes are also not far for us,” read the purported post.
“Arsh Dalla works with Sikh separatists and is backed by Pakistan’s ISI. His allies here collect arms and ammunition like guns and grenades sent by drones and also do the footwork in India,” added a second police source. According to the latest NIA chargesheet filed in May this year, Gill also provided funds to three India-based aides to carry out terrorist acts in Punjab and Delhi. All three have been arrested by the central agency.
Moreover, Punjab police have arrested multiple associates of Gill in connection with murders and extortion rackets. In one instance in Zirakpur, it was found that the accused hung a poster of Gill outside the house of a businessman who had received extortion calls.
“A few gang members such as Gaurav Patial, Sukhdool Singh etc., fled India and ran their syndicate from abroad. To run their gangster syndicate they needed sophisticated weapons. Hence they got associated with terrorist entities like Arsh Dalla,” states an NIA chargesheet from last year.
Gill’s father Charanjeet was booked by Punjab police for the murder of Paramjit Singh, an electrician. Gill reportedly took responsibility for the murder on social media. The father is currently lodged in a Punjab prison. His brother, who was out on bail after being arrested in an attempt to murder case, too managed to flee India on a fake passport.
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