NIA starts proclamation proceedings against Happy Passia & eight others

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has launched “proclamation” proceedings under section 84 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) against US-based gangster-terrorist Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia, Armenia-based Shamsher Singh alias Shera and seven others in the network allegedly involved in a grenade attack at a police station in Punjab, people familiar with the development said.

Proclamation proceedings are legal steps a court takes to compel the appearance of an accused person or witness who is absconding or hiding to avoid an arrest warrant.

Passia is associated with banned pro-Khalistani outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), and according to intelligence officials in Delhi, he worked with both Lawrence Bishnoi’s network through latter’s deputy Satwinder Singh alias Goldy Brar and Bishnoi’s rival gang of Davinder Bambiha/Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala.

Bishnoi gang and BKI’s close links have been documented by multiple agencies in their court documents or intelligence reports. In June 2025, NIA filed a charge sheet against Brar in connection with December 10, 2024, grenade attacks at two clubs — Warehouse Club and Human Club — at Sector 29 in Gurugram, which was part of a BKI’s larger conspiracy to spread communal disharmony and disrupt peace in Haryana and neighbouring regions.

Passia — wanted in over 33 cases by NIA, Haryana and Punjab police — was arrested by US authorities on April 16 last year and is said to be in a US prison. However, NIA treats him as an absconder till he is brought back. Also, Indian agencies have no formal communication regarding his current status.

His, Shera and seven others’ “proclamation” as absconders is significant, as it comes at a time when the north India based gangsters-terrorists’ nexus is back in focus over attacks on celebrities including Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff, officials said, adding that “BKI and gangsters worked together”.

“Also, proclamation proceedings will help NIA take further legal recourse like invoke provisions related to attachment of properties and trial in absentia,” said the officer, requesting anonymity.

The proceedings under section 84 of BNSS, officials said, were carried out in connection with the April 2025 rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack at the Qila Lal Singh police station in Batala district of Gurdaspur.

Other than Passia and Shera, those sought to be declared absconders include Jaswinder Singh alias Baagi, Maninder Singh alias Billa, Malwinder Singh alias Sukh, Abhay Pratap Singh alias Raju, Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Navasherian, Karan Singh alias Abhi and Akash Singh.

All of them, a second officer said, “are hiding in the US, Armenia and Malaysia”.

“These terrorists-gangsters procured weapons, ammunition and explosives to target the Qila Lal Singh police station, besides several other police stations in Punjab and Haryana and are wanted in many other similar incidents,” the second officer said.

The federal anti-terror probe agency already filed a charge sheet in this case in October last year, naming 11 arrested accused persons.

The agency claimed in its charge sheet that foreign-based BKI operatives had orchestrated the attack with the support of associates in India. It alleged that foreign-based handlers exploited personal vulnerabilities and used social media to radicalise and recruit young people in Punjab.

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  Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More