Amit Shah instructed us to legally pursue criminals hiding abroad: Delhi Police after gangster Deepak Boxer's arrest

New Delhi [India], April 4 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah instructed the Delhi Police in August last year to legally pursue criminals and terrorists hiding in the country or abroad, police said on Tuesday after top gangster Deepak Boxer was arrested from Mexico with the help of Office of the Legal Attache, US Embassy.

Delhi Police Special Cell said that the Home Minister held a review meeting in August 2022, and had given specific instructions to the Special Cell and Crime Branch.

"Shah holds regular review meetings in this regard with the police and other concerned agencies. In furtherance to this, after reviewing the work of Delhi Police in August 2022, the Union Home Minister had given specific instructions to the Special Cell and Crime Branch to legally pursue orgzed criminals and terrorists trying to hide anywhere in the country or abroad and bring them to justice. Arresting the dangerous fugitive criminal Deepak Boxer from Mexico and bringing him to India is a big success in this direction," Delhi Police said.

The operation was launched after the Special Cell of Delhi Police received a tip-off about the absconding of wanted criminal and dreaded gangster Deepak Boxer, out of India. Deepak Boxer, a very dangerous criminal of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, is wanted by Delhi Police in various cases.

"Due to continuous crimes, a case (number 73/23) was registered against Deepak Boxer and his gang on 16/03/2023 in Police Station, Special Cell, under which the present operation was carried out. In this case, it was resolved that Deepak Pahal alias Boxer has to be traced and arrested from any corner of the world. Extensive interrogation and technical procedures lasting almost a month revealed that Deepak, after fleeing India on a fake passport, reached Mexico in the South American continent, after making stops in several countries. His intention behind reaching Mexico was to reach America with the help of human traffickers where he would join his other associates and from there he would continue to run the activities of his orgzed crime group in Delhi and neighbouring states," the police said.

Further detailing the operation, the police said that after the confirmation of Deepak's presence in Mexico, in the second phase of this operation, the process of finding Deepak in Mexico started in mutual cooperation with USA's Office of the Legal Attache, US Embassy, New Delhi and Mexico Police.

"After this, it was learned from a deeply-placed source that Deepak got a fake passport made in the name of Ravi Antil from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh and fled abroad from Kolkata airport in January 2023. For about a week, all the old comrades of Deepak, his criminal associates and close relatives were thoroughly interrogated. Through highly complex technical processes, the information derived from the interrogation was authenticated and shared with Mexican and Office of the Legal Attache, US Embassy officials in near real-time, despite a full 12-hour time-zone difference. Acting on this information, Deepak was traced to the beach city of Cancun in Mexico," the police said.

"After Deepak's arrival in Mexico through human trafficking routes with the help of a fake passport, the Mexican administration was requested to deport him as soon as possible. The Indian Embassy in Mexico City also joined the process, and a team of experienced field officers from the Delhi Police was immediately sent to Mexico City," they added.

The work of this team was to coordinate with the Indian Embassy, Mexico Administration and Police and Office of the Legal Attache, US Embassy so that the proceedings of his deportation could be completed before any kind of legal hindrance from Deepak's criminal network. Deepak is being brought to New Delhi via Istanbul in Turkey.

"In this important international effort to bring a dangerous fugitive criminal Deepak Boxer to India, the major intelligence agencies of both the countries, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Embassies of various countries, Interpol, CBI, Delhi-based officials and officials of Office of the Legal Attache, US Embassy and Mexico Police have supported the Delhi Police at every step," the police said.