In a YouTube interview on Monday, a person claiming to be Goldy Brar told a journalist that he was not jailed in the United States and was in Europe.
New Delhi: Four days after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann declared that Satinderjit Singh aka Goldy Brar was apprehended in the United States, Indian agencies remained non-committal about his whereabouts.
Officials in Delhi and Punjab said they had received no official confirmation from US authorities as to whether Brar has been “detained,” is “under observation” as a result of an Interpol red alert issued against him or was “released go” after being temporarily detained. In addition to other illegal actions, the sought bandit was implicated in the murder of Punjabi musician Sidhu Moosewala in May of this year.
In a YouTube interview on Monday, a person claiming to be Brar told a journalist that he was not jailed in the United States or Europe. It is unknown if the person speaking was actually Brar.
“Several agencies were tracking Brar’s movements, but he abruptly vanished.” That’s when word came that officials in California were holding him. But we don’t know if he is still detained, was released, or was placed under observation based on an Interpol red notice and India’s request to the US to keep an eye on gangsters with links to extremist organisations,” said an unnamed officer in Delhi.
“We are still waiting for an official notification from the US authorities,” said one law enforcement official.
Mann stated on December 2 that Goldy Brar had been detained in the United States and would be returned to India.
“California authorities have detained him.” They have informed the Indian government and the Punjab Police of his detention. They have inquired as to whether he should be deported. We will bring Goldy Brar to India under the pact with America so that the families who lost sons and daughters might get some peace. “Brar was the principal mastermind, and there are others whose records we have,” Mann said last week in Ahmedabad.
Following that, officials in intelligence agencies in Delhi and Punjab verified, citing “unofficial” contacts in the US, that Brar had “in fact” been captured in California.
The Punjab government and state police have yet to comment on the video.
Police officers are unwilling to take on the matter, even on the record, claiming that it would be inappropriate for them to say anything because the chief minister has already talked on the subject.
The Punjab Police even cancelled its weekly press conference after hearing Brar’s talk on Red FM Vancouver.
When reports of Brar’s arrest broke on Saturday, state police personnel denied having any “on or off the record” confirmation. Still, it remained silent when the Chief Minister told reporters in Gujarat, where he was campaigning for the Aam Aadmi Party, that the gangster had been detained.
