Gangster Joginder Geong who is linked to Arsh Dalla, deported to India from Philippines

Indian authorities brought gangster Joginder Geong back to the country on Sunday after tracking his location to the Philippines. He has been booked in at least 24 cases and linked to designated terrorist Arsh Dalla. Geong first came under scrutiny amidst a Delhi Police investigation into the Kaushal Chaudhary and Davinder Bambhia crime syndicates.

According to investigators, the Bambhia syndicate had been working to facilitate criminal exchanges between Kaushal Chaudhary and pro-Khalistan elements abroad — particularly Lucky Patial and Arsh Dalla. Joginder Geong alias Joga Don was identified by the Delhi Police special cell as a critical off-shore node in manpower and logistics network fueling this terror-crime nexus.

Geong and his brother (now killed in police action) had also been involved in many criminal activities in northern India — spanning Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi NCR.

The Delhi Police had subsequently worked in tandem with the Haryana Police to track down his location and monitor his activities in the Philippines. The two teams had then placed a joint request before central agencies to seek his deportation. Geong had been hiding in Bacold City with a fake ID when he was captured and brought back to India before being arrested.

Who is Arsh Dalla?

Dala is a close aide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed outside a Gurudwara in Surrey in June 2023. In January 2023, the Union Home Ministry had declared him a "terrorist" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He is among the most wanted terrorists in the country and has been charged in various cases of targeted killings and extortion.

Dalla had come to Canada from Punjab in 2018 and lived in Surrey as per a report in Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper, which said he is the reported head of the Dalla Lakhbir gang, accused of using Canada as a base for a violent extortion ring in Punjab.

(With inputs from agencies)