US Murder Suspect Dhami To Be Extradited After Being Nabbed In Punjab

NEW YORK – The Punjab Police havearrested a fugitive wanted by the FBI andother authorities in the United States in amurder case of an Indian-origin man in2008. The accused, Amandeep SinghDhami, had been evading arrest and subsequentlyfled to India.Dhami, 28, who is wanted by the US federalagency in connection with a 2008shooting of another Indo-American, willbe extradited to the US from India toface homicide charges.Dhami was arrested in Jalandhar, Punjab,on local charges by Indian authorities andwill be returned to the US to face homicidecharges related to the August 31,2008 shooting of Parmjit Pamma Singhat a later date.”We are thankful for our continued partnershipwith local and international lawenforcement partners. A team of localand international FBI resources workedclosely with theSacramento CountySheriff’s Department topursue Dhami,” saidSpecial Agent in ChargeMonica Miller of the FBI’sSacramento Field Office.”We all hope that Dhami’seventual return for prosecutionmay offer some closureand peace for theSingh family.”The Punjab Police, when contacted followinga tip off from the US, is also tryingto ascertain if the accused was linkedto the recent multi-million drug nexusinvolving dismissed Punjab Police officerJagdish Singh Bhola. The Federal Bureauof Investigations (FBI) had announced areward of $20,000 for information leadingto the arrest of the fugitive. A teamof crime branch of the Punjab Policereportedly arrested Dhaminear Jalandhar a few daysago with the help of theJalandhar police.Sources said Dhami’s arresthad been kept a secret asthey were trying to probehis role in the recent drugtrade nexus bust. Dhamiwas reportedly putting up inJalandhar allegedly under afake name — Jujhar Singh— for over four years, police sourcessaid.Dhami (29) and his friend GurpreetSingh Gosal (29) had entered the templegrounds of the Sacramento Sikh Societyin the US on August 31, 2008 and firedseveral shots while a cricket tournamentwas in progress.Hundreds of people, including childrenas young as seven, had gathered to competein the Gurmukh Singh JohalMemorial Cricket Tournament. In the firing,Parmjit Pamma Singh (26) was killedand another man was injured. Earlier thisyear, Gosal was sentenced to 35 years inprison by a court in the US. JalandharCommissioner Ishwar Singh told TheTribune that Dhami was arrested andhanded over to the crime branch team,which was handling the case. “We haveno further information about his arrest,”he said.Amandeep’s father Balbir Singh Dhamiwas gunned down on a North LagunaCreek street in May 2011, a few monthsafter being released in a cocaine recoverycase. “We have arrested AmandeepDhami in a cheating case for living undera false name as he is wanted by Interpol,”said Deputy Superintendent of Police(Crime) Bhupinder Singh.On Dhami’s possible deportation to theUSA where he is wanted, Bhupinder said:“There is a laid down process for hishanding over to Interpol.”In 2008, Balbir Singh Dhami was amongsix defendants indicted in a drug traffickingcase, according to federal court documents.Prosecutors alleged that Balbirconspired to use his ties to the truckingbusiness – he was part owner of aStockton Boulevard truck stop – to ferrylarge amounts of cocaine between LosAngeles, Sacramento, Canada and elsewherein the country.While senior crime branch officialsdenied to comment on the matter claiminginvestigations were still on, sourcessaid district police officials had confirmedthat the crime branch was tryingto establish Amandeep’s alleged linkswith the drug mafia in India. The PunjabPolice had earlier named about half adozen NRIs in North America foralleged links with the drug mafia in thestate.A senior police officer attached withinvestigations in the Jagdish Singh Bholacase said there were some queries fromthe top brass pertaining to Dhami’sinvolvement in the drug trade nexusfoiled recently.“We are trying to get more details fromthe arrested accused in the Bhola drugnexus but cannot say anything as fornow,” he stated.Wanted for murderOn August 31, 2008, Amandeep SinghDhami (pic) and Gurpreet Singh Gosalallegedly opened fire during a cricketmatch at the temple grounds of theSacramento Sikh Society in the USParmjit Singh was killed and anotherman was injured, While Gosal was sentencedto 35 years in prison by a UScourt, Dhami fled to IndiaThe FBI had announced a reward of$20,000 for info leading to Dhami’sarrest; The Punjab Police are probing hislinks to the drug trade