Lucknow: Bahraich Police on Saturday arrested Joga Singh, a member and sympathiser of Waris Punjab De, for facilitating the movement of two pro-Khalistani operatives who were arrested a day earlier for illegally entering India from Nepal. Police said Joga Singh, 55, was coordinating their onward travel to Punjab.The arrested duo—US citizen Manbir Singh Dhillon and Vikramjeet Singh—had planned to travel to Punjab after crossing the Indo-Nepal border and remained in contact with other Waris Punjab De operatives through the encrypted Zangi app.Police traced Manbir’s journey from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, Kathmandu and Nepalgunj before he attempted to enter India illegally.
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His wife, Raylene Alexander Dhillon, a US citizen, and their infant daughter, carrying valid passports and Indian visas, entered India legally through the Rupaidiha check post.Police also tracked Vikramjeet Singh’s travel from Maharashtra to Kathmandu and are probing the wider cross-border network and possible links with other Waris Punjab De members.A senior officer privy to the probe said that Joga Singh worked at a gurdwara in Pilibhit and acted as a facilitator to Manbir and Vikramjeet, in helping them to cross Nepal to India. “They were connected through app Zangi”, said the officer.According to the police, Joga Singh, a bachelor and an orphan, got in touch with separatists and Khalistani supporters and then began to work for jailed Punjab MP Amritpal Singh, and leader of group Waris Punjab De. “Joga arranged Vikramjeet’s short stay in Nanded gurdwara after the latter fled from Ajnala in Amritsar wher he was accused in a case of arson, rioting, attacked cops on Feb 23, 2023,” said the officer.Police said Dhillon, a US-based individual facing multiple criminal cases in Punjab, had travelled from Los Angeles to Hong Kong on July 16, reached Kathmandu on July 18, and arrived in Nepalgunj on July 22 along with his wife Raylene Alexander Dhillon.The family intended to enter India and later proceed to Punjab before returning to the US through Nepal on Aug 31.Police said verification with Punjab Police revealed that Manbir Singh is wanted in multiple criminal cases registered at Bagha Purana police station in Moga district, including offences under offences relating to war against India in 2023.Vikramjeet Singh, 33, a resident of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district in Punjab, used forged identity documents in the name of Sukhraj Singh, including a fake Aadhaar card, PAN card and driving licence, to facilitate the illegal border crossing.Vikramjeet remained absconding at Hazur Sahib Gurdwara in Nanded, Maharashtra, between 2023 and July 2025 before shifting to Kathmandu, where he allegedly lived under a false identity.Police claimed he regularly used the encrypted Zangi communication application, which investigators described as a banned platform in India, to remain in contact with other members of the alleged network.Vikramjeet maintained links with Waris Punjab De, the organisation headed by jailed Punjab MP Amritpal Singh, and that the app was used to evade surveillance while coordinating cross-border movements, police said.Teams from NIA, IB, R&AW also interrogated Manbir Singh Dhillon and Vikramjeet Singh for hours in jail. Punjab police is expected to take remand of Manbir and Vikramjeet soon.
