Punjab Police brings back wanted gangster Gurwinder alias Afridi from Ethiopia

Gurwinder aka Afridi, against whom the Punjab government had announced a reward of ₹5 lakh, landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport

Punjab Police on Sunday brought wanted gangster Gurwinder alias Afridi back to India from Ethiopia. He landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport early in the morning and is being escorted to Punjab by a team of the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF).

A resident of Tut village in Tarn Taran district, Afridi carries a reward of ₹5 lakh announced by the Punjab government. The team escorting him is being led by AGTF SP Bikram Brar, airport sources said. Police sources described the operation as the first instance of Punjab Police securing the return of a fugitive from an African country.

The operation comes amid the state police's efforts to track down gangsters who have fled overseas. To strengthen these efforts, Punjab Police has established an Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell (OFTEC) to coordinate with central agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

Special DGP (AGTF) Parmod Ban and Special DGP (Counter Intelligence) are expected to address a press conference later on Sunday.

Afridi's name surfaced in the investigation into the August 31, 2022, attack on a church in Thakkarpura village of Tarn Taran. Four masked men allegedly held the church's security guard hostage at gunpoint, vandalised statues of Lord Jesus and Mother Mary and set the pastor's car on fire before fleeing.

In June 2024, Amritsar Rural Police arrested Jaswinder Singh alias Munshi, describing him as a key accused in the case. During preliminary interrogation, Munshi allegedly named Afridi and two others as his accomplices in the attack, Hindustan Times had reported earlier. Police subsequently began looking for the other suspects.

Afridi was also named in a 2021 FIR registered at Sadar Patti police station in Tarn Taran under Sections 380 and 457 of the IPC, relating to theft and house-breaking, and Section 25 of the Arms Act. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the FIR and subsequent proceedings against the petitioners in February 2024 after a compromise between the parties.

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