Washington, July 18 (IANS) An organised crime syndicate recruited vulnerable young people from India by promising money, power and opportunities to migrate to countries including the United States and Canada, while allegedly paying some recruits as little as Rs 20,000 ($200) to commit murders, according to a sweeping US federal indictment.
The 44-page indictment, a copy of which was obtained by IANS, provides a rare look into what US prosecutors describe as the recruitment model of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Organised Crime Group, a transnational criminal organisation alleged to have expanded from Punjab into North America, Europe and Oceania.
Filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, the indictment charges 15 defendants, including alleged gang leader Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Indian national Nitish Kaushal, who was arrested by the FBI in Vermont this week after being placed on its Most Wanted list.
According to the indictment, the Bhagwanpuria Organised Crime Group originated in Punjab under the leadership of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, who prosecutors allege later built an international criminal network after breaking away from the Lawrence Bishnoi organised crime group. Investigators allege the organisation eventually grew into a transnational syndicate headquartered in India with members across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
One of the indictment’s most striking allegations concerns how the organisation allegedly recruited its members.
According to prosecutors, the group primarily targeted “vulnerable, disadvantaged populations in India” and deliberately recruited minors because they faced lower criminal penalties if caught committing violent crimes.
The indictment alleges that in certain parts of India, the organisation paid recruits “as little as 20,000 rupees, or approximately $200, to commit murder on behalf of the enterprise.”
US prosecutors further allege that recruitment coordinators enticed young people by promising “money, notoriety, power, and the ability to escape India.”
According to the indictment, recruiters also sought individuals who could qualify for student visas or foreign work visas. Prosecutors allege that members who demonstrated loyalty to the organisation were rewarded by being sent to operate in foreign countries, including the United States and Canada.
The court filing alleges the gang viewed overseas expansion as an important part of its criminal operations.
According to prosecutors, the organisation eventually established more than 1,000 members and associates worldwide, including more than 100 in the United States. Members allegedly engaged in criminal activities ranging from murder and kidnapping to drug trafficking, extortion, firearms trafficking, money laundering and human smuggling.
The indictment further alleges that members understood it was “difficult, if not impossible,” to leave the organisation.
According to prosecutors, members believed that if they were considered disloyal, other members of the organisation would kill or otherwise harm them or their family members, particularly relatives living in India. The indictment alleges the organisation threatened, and in some cases carried out, violence against members and their families if they were suspected of cooperating with law enforcement or otherwise acting against the group’s interests.
US prosecutors allege the organisation used violence not only to eliminate rivals but also to maintain discipline within its own ranks.
The indictment states that the gang accepted murder-for-hire contracts, kidnapped rivals, trafficked narcotics across North America and used extortion schemes targeting victims in both the United States and India. Prosecutors also allege that proceeds from criminal activities were routed back to the organisation’s leadership in India.
Members of the organisation allegedly relied on encrypted communication platforms to coordinate criminal activities and identify extortion targets. Prosecutors allege they frequently gathered information about victims’ relatives living in India and threatened family members to force payment of extortion demands.
The indictment additionally alleges that gang members worked with corrupt law enforcement officials in Punjab by providing false information against rivals, leading to allegedly fabricated criminal cases that were later used to extort money from victims. Those allegations remain unproven.
US authorities contend that the recruitment strategy helped transform what began as a regional criminal group into an international organised crime network with operations stretching across multiple continents. Prosecutors allege the organisation established drug trafficking routes throughout the United States, smuggled firearms into Canada and coordinated violent crimes from India using encrypted communications and contraband mobile phones.
–IANS
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