Mastermind behind Chandigarh chemist shop murder held in Spain

In a major crackdown on transnational organised crime, Punjab-origin gangster Gurpreet Singh, alias Goldy Dhillon (also known as Goldy Rajpura), has been arrested in Madrid, Spain, police said on Saturday. Punjab-origin gangster Gurpreet Singh, alias Goldy Dhillon (also known as Goldy Rajpura), has been arrested in Madrid, Spain, police said on Saturday. (HT file photo)

The arrest follows a coordinated operation by the Punjab Police Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and Interpol. “The process for his extradition will begin very soon,” a senior Punjab Police officer confirmed, adding that Chandigarh Police will seek his custody on a production warrant immediately upon his return to India.

Cashier murder, Sector 5 firing

Dhillon is the mastermind behind the murder of Janki Das, 45, a cashier at the Shri Kumar Medical Hall in Sector 11, Chandigarh, on June 13. Acting on Dhillon’s direct instructions, a six-man hit squad travelled from Jammu to Punjab before splitting into two operational modules. The first module shot and killed Janki Das inside the pharmacy, firing 13 rounds at point-blank range. The second module was intercepted by the police near Mullanpur while waiting for a fresh target; police recovered a foreign-made C47 pistol and a .32-bore pistol from their possession.

Dhillon, in his late 20s, is also a key accused in the January 2024 firing incident at a businessman’s residence in Sector 5, Chandigarh. The NIA later took over the Sector 5 probe, naming both Dhillon and Canada-based gangster Satinderjit Singh, alias Goldy Brar, in its chargesheet. While Brar was designated a terrorist by the Union home ministry, the NIA declared Dhillon a fugitive and placed a ₹10-lakh bounty on his arrest. Punjab Police had additionally placed a ₹5-lakh reward on him.

Rajpura roots, extortion threats

Originally from Rajpura in Punjab’s Patiala district, Dhillon first joined hands with Goldy Brar before integrating into the larger Lawrence Bishnoi criminal syndicate. Senior Patiala Police officials confirmed that Dhillon is wanted locally in multiple cases, including extortion, attempt to murder, and other heinous crimes. He fled India using illegal human-smuggling routes in 2022, initially reaching Germany before shifting bases across Europe to evade law enforcement.

His local extortion network struck again last week when he claimed responsibility for a June 26 firing incident at the office of Lakshmi Property Dealer in Rajpura town. In subsequent social media posts, Dhillon escalated his targets by issuing direct death threats to AAP Rajpura MLA Neena Mittal and her son, Gaurav Mittal, naming them as his next targets. The threats prompted an immediate security overhaul for the MLA’s family by Patiala police.

Terror links

Dhillon’s criminal activities extended well beyond the borders of India. He allegedly extorted ₹20 lakh from a businessman based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

In June 2026, he also claimed responsibility for the targeted murder of 57-year-old Satwinder Sharma, a prominent Punjabi community figure who had operated a workforce supply company in Surrey since 1992.

In early 2025, the Punjab Police disrupted his domestic capabilities by busting a “target-killing module” in Patiala, arresting two operatives who had been heavily armed and tasked with executing assassinations in Mohali and Rajpura.

Intelligence agencies have warned that Dhillon was actively expanding his operational reach through growing proximity with Europe-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror cells, utilising encrypted applications like Zangi and Signal to direct operations. (With inputs by Karam Prakash in Patiala)