Sidhu Moosewala murder: Interpol issues Red Corner Notice against gangster Goldy Brar

New Delhi: International Police Organization (Interpol) on Thursday issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against gangster Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar, who claimed responsibility for the recent murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala. A senior CBI official said that after the issuance of RCN, the process to enable his extradition to India will begin.

"The RCN has been issued. The CBI liaison officer will coordinate with Interpol and a proposal will be moved through the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for extradition," he said.

Brar, a native of Sri Muktsar Sahib, had gone to Canada on a student visa in 2017 and he is an active member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. He is operating from Canada. Meanwhile, CBI on Thursday issued clarifications on reports regarding the Red Corner Notice (RCN) request against Goldy Brar. On Wednesday, Punjab Police said that on May 19, 2022, ten days before the murder of Sidhu Moosewala, they had already sent the proposal to the CBI to issue a Red-Corner notice against Goldy Brar, which will pave the way for his extradition to India.

In a statement, CBI said that the International Police Cooperation Unit (IPCU) of CBI, New Delhi coordinates the requests of sister law enforcement agencies for informal coordination through Interpol including requests for the issuance of colour-coded notices.

"IPCU, CBI checks the requests for eligibility as per the Rules of Processing Data of Interpol so that the request is complete and the notices are issued early. The final issuance of notices is done by Interpol (HQ), Lyon (France) in line with rules for the processing of data," the statement reads.

In the present matter, the proposal for issuance of a Red Corner Notice against Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy was received on May 30 at 12:25 pm from the Bureau of Investigation, Punjab Police through e-mail. In this e-mail dated May 30, a copy of a letter dated May 19 was attached. Also, a hard copy of the same proposal was received from Punjab police in IPCU, CBI, and New Delhi on May 30.

"After processing for confirmation of pre-requisite requirements, the Red Notice proposal was forwarded expeditiously to Interpol (Headquarters), Lyon on June 2," it reads.

As per the above proposal of Punjab Police, the request for issuance of a Red Corner Notice (RCN) relates to two cases of Punjab Police during the years 2020 and 2021 vide FIR No.409 dated November 12, 2020, and other FIR No.44 dated February 18, 2021. 

Both FIRs are of Police Station City Faridkot, Faridkot District (Punjab). Even this request was received in IPCU CBI on May 30, 2022, whereas as per information in the public domain, the murder of Sidhu Moose Wala took place on May 29, 2022.

It is stated that the request for issuance of a Red Notice against Harwinder Singh Rinda has already been sent to Interpol (HQ) Lyon. It is further clarified that INTERPOL channels are used for informal international police to police cooperation and a Red Notice is neither mandatory nor a pre-requisite for sending an extradition request more so when the location of the subject is known.

CBI has been assisting all Law Enforcement Agencies in the matter of international cooperation and is committed to assisting in the best possible manner through various international channels.