CHANDIGARH: Elusive gangster Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia is no ordinary fugitive. His roots are modest — a matriculate from an agriculturist family in Passia village of Punjab’s Amritsar district. Yet his ascent in the criminal world has been anything but humble. Currently said to be hiding in US, Passia is allegedly the mastermind behind a recent string of grenade attacks in Punjab. He uses “burner” phone numbers, each with a different country code, to avoid detection and communicate with “gullible youth” enlisted as “foot soldiers” for terrorist strikes in Punjab, a state police officer said. NIA has been on his trail, tracking several phone numbers tied to Passia.
He travelled to Dubai in 2018 and returned in 2019. “He went to London in 2020 and did not return,” a police officer said. Passia has criminal associates in UK, where he spent a few months in 2020-21 before moving to US, slipping across the Mexico border through illegal channels, according to details compiled by Punjab police and accessed by TOI. Passia’s criminal dossier is extensive. He is wanted in 17 cases under laws such as UAPA, Arms Act, and NDPS Act. Twelve of these cases were filed between Nov 2022 and April 2024.
The saga turns darker with Passia’s alleged collaboration with Pakistan-based Harwinder Singh alias Rinda, a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist. Together, they coordinate attacks in Punjab. Passia has been declared a fugitive, with a Chandigarh court issuing an arrest warrant against him last week on an NIA application.
