CBI brings absconding accused Harnek Singh back from US after 13 years

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has secured the return to India of long-absconding accused Harnek Singh, who had been evading investigation and trial since 2013 in a case involving conspiracy, cheating, forgery and the use of forged documents as genuine, officials said on Thursday.

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.

The accused is expected to be produced before the Court of the Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI Cases), Panchkula, Haryana, at the earliest, officials said.

The CBI, Delhi, had registered a case in 2016 in connection with offences of conspiracy, cheating, forgery and using forged documents as genuine under the Indian Penal Code, besides offences under the Information Technology Act.

According to officials, the investigation found that in 2013, Indian nationals residing or working in Singapore were targeted by fraudsters operating from India through spoofed telephone calls. The accused allegedly impersonated officials of Singapore Immigration authorities and used the false identity to threaten victims with legal consequences.

“The victims were falsely informed that they had furnished incorrect information in their disembarkation forms at the airport and were liable to criminal prosecution and deportation. They were thereafter induced to pay purported settlement fees/fines through Western Union Money Transfer to designated receivers in India,” officials said.

The investigation subsequently established that the money allegedly obtained from the victims was received through a money-transfer outlet operated by Harnek Singh in association with co-accused Aditya Bhardwaj and Deepak Jain.

Officials said Singh fled India in May 2013 and later entered the United States illegally, where he remained absconding for more than a decade while the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings continued in India.

During the period in which Singh remained unavailable to the investigating and judicial authorities, proceedings against the other accused continued before the trial court.

The trial against co-accused Aditya Bhardwaj and Deepak Jain was eventually concluded before the Special Judicial Magistrate, CBI, Panchkula, and both accused were convicted by the court on May 26, 2025.

Meanwhile, despite summons and a bailable warrant being served upon Harnek Singh in the United States through the US Department of Justice, he failed to appear before the trial court in India.

Following his continued non-appearance, the Court of the Special Judicial Magistrate, CBI, Panchkula, issued an open-dated non-bailable warrant of arrest against Singh on April 22, 2024.

The CBI subsequently intensified efforts to trace and bring him back to India through international law-enforcement channels. The agency pursued the matter through Interpol mechanisms, which eventually resulted in the publication of an Interpol Red Notice against Singh.

The agency also caused a Look-Out Circular to be opened against his passport to facilitate his apprehension and prevent him from evading the legal process.

After his deportation from the US, Singh was apprehended by CBI officials immediately upon his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on September 9.

The agency is now set to present him before the competent court in Panchkula at the earliest.

“The operation reflects CBI’s continued pursuit of fugitive accused through international law-enforcement and diplomatic channels, including effective utilisation of Interpol mechanisms, Look-Out Circulars and coordination with foreign authorities. It also reiterates CBI’s commitment to ensuring that absconding accused are brought before the law, irrespective of the time elapsed,” officials said.

IANS