Indian-origin gangster Nitish Kaushal, also known as “Lala” and who was included by the US investigative agency FBI in its list of most wanted fugitives, has been arrested by the US authorities near the Canadian border.
According to new documents filed in the US court, Nitish Kaushal is accused of evading federal agencies for several days, abandoning the mobile phone that was under the surveillance of investigative agencies and trying to hide his identity through a fake New Jersey driving license.
According to court documents, Nitish Kaushal was arrested on July 16 from the Alburgh area of the US state of Vermont, which is located less than a mile from the Canadian border. Federal prosecutors have asked the court to keep him in jail until his trial, because he is a danger to society and there is a possibility of him absconding.
What are the allegations against Nitish Kaushal?
According to US prosecutors, Nitish Kaushal is a member of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Organized Crime Group. New court documents claim that the gang is an international organized crime network operating from Punjab, which is accused of being involved in serious crimes such as murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, extortion, arms smuggling, money laundering and human trafficking.
According to the prosecution, on June 25, the federal grand jury of Los Angeles had framed charges against Nitish Kaushal under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy. According to the documents, on July 7, federal agencies tried to arrest him, but failed.
Why did FBI include him in the most wanted list?
Prosecutors say that after the charge sheet became public, Nitish Kaushal gave up the mobile phone which was being monitored by the investigating agencies with the permission of the court. After this he disappeared, due to which the FBI included him in its list of most wanted fugitives.
Whom did the FBI catch?
According to documents filed in the court, on July 16, Nitish Kaushal was arrested less than a mile from the Canadian border. The prosecution claims that he had left his vehicle very close to the border.
The documents also say that Canadian law enforcement agencies saw a man walking across the border. Although it is not clearly stated in the documents that the person was definitely Nitish Kaushal.
After this, a resident of Vermont saw a suspicious person peeking inside the vehicle and going into a barn in his home’s security cameras. When he was stopped by U.S. Border Patrol agents, he produced a New Jersey driver’s license in another person’s name, according to prosecutors.
The government says that his real identity was revealed through a fingerprint test. According to prosecutors, Nitish Kaushal also admitted that the driving license was not his.
The investigating agencies have also presented such photographs in the court, in which his lion tattoo recorded during the investigation has been compared with the tattoo seen after his arrest.
Who else’s name is in the charge sheet?
It has been said in the charge sheet that this organization started in Punjab under the leadership of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria. Prosecutors claim that Jaggu Bhagwanpuria was earlier associated with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, but later he formed his own separate criminal network. According to the documents, over time the organization expanded to many countries and included more than 1,000 members and affiliates around the world, including more than 100 members in the US alone.
How did Nitish enter America?
Nitish Kaushal’s background has also been mentioned in the new court documents. Prosecutors allege that he entered the US illegally in 2022 via Yuma, Arizona. According to the documents, in 2023 he was accused of murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy and weapons related cases.
However, he was later convicted only in a weapons-related case and sentenced to 60 days. Apart from this, the prosecution has also said that a minor case related to drugs was also registered against him in 2026.
Comments are closed.