JALANDHAR: Amritpal Singh, who was recently named on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) wanted list during a major crackdown on three India-based transnational organised crime groups, died in a road accident in his native village of Mowai, Jalandhar, on Feb 19 last year.His father Harwinder Singh, a former village sarpanch, told TOI on Wednesday that Amritpal had returned home from the US just a few months before his death. His mother Manjit Kaur is the village’s current sarpanch. Placing Amritpal on its wanted list, the FBI on Tuesday said he was sought for his alleged role in a transnational criminal organisation engaged in a conspiracy to distribute, possess and export controlled substances. “This organisation, known as The Ravinder Dhanda Organised Crime Group, is based out of Vancouver, Canada, and allegedly smuggled bulk quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine for drug trafficking organisations throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico,” the FBI posted on social media. “On June 23, 2026, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Singh in the United States District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles), after he was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances,” the post said. It is learnt that after returning to Mowai, Amritpal told locals he had returned permanently to settle down. He died late one evening while returning from his fields on a scooter when he rammed into his family’s tractor-trolley ahead of him after its driver suddenly pressed the brakes. Sources said the family initially suspected foul play. On July 7, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the crackdown, Operation Hard Ball, was the result of years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates that engaged in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, international narcotics trafficking and other crimes impacting the Indian diaspora. The DOJ also unsealed three separate indictments against gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Canada-based drug lord Ravinder Singh Dhanda and their associates. Law enforcement agencies seized over 1,000 kg of cocaine, 1 kg of heroin and a dozen firearms during the operation.
