The Punjab Police took wanted gangster Sukhpreet Singh Dhaliwal alias Budda into custody as he arrived at the Delhi airport in the early hours of Saturday after being deported from Armenia, an official said.
Amid tight security, he was later produced before a court in Mohali, which remanded him into police custody till November 29, he said.
Budda, the self-styled chief of the Davinder Bambiha gang, is facing charges in over 15 cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta had said in a statement on Friday.
The gangster recently came into the limelight for his contacts with pro-Khalistan elements, he said.
"Budda was convicted in a murder case in 2011, but had jumped parole in 2016 and was declared a proclaimed offender," Gupta said.
A resident of Nihal Singh Wala in Moga, Budda had fled the country in the wake of the crackdown against gangsters by the state government, he said.
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"The Punjab Police continued to zealously pursue him but narrowly missed nabbing him in the UAE. Eventually, he was tracked down in Armenia following which the Punjab Police got a lookout circular and red corner notice issued from the Interpol," he added.
Budda was held in a precisely executed operation by the Armenian Police on August 8, 2019, according to the DGP.
The gangster was actively involved in extortion business in Punjab and had gained notoriety as one of the most feared and dreaded criminals of the state after the death of gangster Vicky Gounder, he said.