In a breakthrough, Indian security agencies have arrested two of the country’s most wanted gangsters who had been operating their criminal networks from abroad, media reports said.
As per reports, Venkatesh Garg was apprehended in Georgia, while Bhanu Rana, a close aide of the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang, was arrested in the United States.
Both fugitives are expected to be deported to India soon, marking a significant success in the ongoing international crackdown on Indian crime syndicates.
Authorities say more than two dozen gangsters continue to operate from overseas, recruiting youth from across North India and running extortion and smuggling rackets.
Venkatesh Garg, a resident of Narayangarh in Haryana, fled India after being accused of the murder of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader in Gurugram.
He has over 10 criminal cases registered against him and is believed to be working closely with overseas gangster Kapil Sangwan. Garg was allegedly running an extortion network targeting builders and businessmen in Delhi-NCR and beyond.
In October, Delhi Police had arrested four shooters from Sangwan’s gang involved in attacks on a builder’s house and farmhouse, further exposing Garg’s network.
Meanwhile, Bhanu Rana, a native of Karnal in Haryana, has been living in the US for several years. Linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate, Rana is accused of supplying weapons and funding local gangs across Haryana, Punjab, and Delhi.
His name surfaced during investigations into a grenade attack in Punjab earlier this year.
In June, Haryana’s Special Task Force (STF) arrested two men with grenades, pistols, and ammunition, who later revealed they were working under Rana’s instructions.
Officials say the arrests of Garg and Rana have dealt a major blow to the overseas wings of Indian organized crime, and further operations are underway to track other fugitive gang leaders across Europe and North America.
