Gangster-turned-terrorist Harpeet Singh alias Happy Passia, wanted in multiple terror-related incidents across Punjab and who was arrested in the United States earlier this month, was nabbed by the US border patrol in 2022 as well but the then Joe Biden administration released him, the Donald Trump administration has told HT.
Passia, who is wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Punjab police in at least 33 criminal cases, including 18 terror-related incidents, orchestrated most of the terror activities in the north Indian state during the period he was roaming free on the US soil.
A member of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist outfit, Passia was finally re-arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on April 16 in Sacramento and is currently in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). India is trying to get him extradited and since he had entered the US illegally, authorities there might soon deport him, officials familiar with the matter said.
“ICE has arrested Harpreet Singh, an illegal alien wanted in his origin country of India for connection with terrorist activities that included planning more than a dozen grenade attacks on police officials and is linked to Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a foreign terrorist organization,” the US department of homeland security said in an email statement to HT on April 22.
“Singh had entered the US illegally on January 27, 2022, in Arizona… He was arrested by a US Border Patrol agent from Tucson’s sector, placed in removal proceedings, and then released into the interior of the country,” the statement said, without specifying the exact date of Passia’s release.
The statement quoted Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at DHS, as saying: “The Biden administration not only let a wanted terrorist into our country, but after he was arrested by Border patrol agents, they released him into the interior of our country.”
“While shocking, it’s not surprising given the Biden administration routinely released unvetted terrorists and criminals into American communities. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s (DHS secretary Kristi Noem) leadership, ICE is unleashed to remove these violent criminals from America’s streets and put an end to catch and release. We will hunt down, arrest, and lock up foreign terrorists and criminals who have operated with impunity on American soil,” McLaughlin added in the statement.
The DHS further said that Passia “will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings”.
Passia has been named in a recent charge sheet by NIA in connection with the September 2024 grenade attack in Chandigarh. The attack, targeting the residence of a retired Punjab police officer, was part of a broader conspiracy by the proscribed terrorist group BKI.
“Singh (Passia) is a foreign fugitive wanted in India for providing terrorist funds, recruitment, and planning of a grenade attack of an Indian police station and on a retired Punjab police officer’s house with the intent to kill and instill fear amongst law enforcement officers. He is also wanted by the Indian government for multiple violent extortion and threatening operations in India,” the DHS statement said.
The US authority further said that as per the Indian Intelligence Bureau, Passia is one of the most wanted men by the Indian agencies. “Indian officials believe Singh to be a senior transnational terror network operative directly linked to Harwinder Singh Rinda, an infamous figure in the Pakistan-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI),” it said.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav had termed Passia’s arrest “a major milestone” in sustained crackdown on ISI-backed terror networks.
“Passia is the primary handler of ISI-backed terror modules in Punjab and played a central role in orchestrating targeted killings, grenade attacks on police establishments, and extortion across the state between 2023 and 2025,” Yadav had said last week.