NIA arrests accused in Vikas Bagga murder
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested Harwinder Kumar, also known as Sonu or Sonu Barnala, after he was deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He is accused in the targeted killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Vikas Prabhakar. Investigators say his arrest shuts down a key overseas link in a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) conspiracy that stretched from Pakistan through Germany and the Gulf into Punjab.
Prabhakar, also known as Vikas Bagga, was shot dead by two men on April 13, 2024, at his confectionery shop in Nangal, in the Rupnagar district of Punjab. The NIA named Mandeep Kumar and Surinder Kumar from Nawanshahr for the killing. Police also arrested and charged a third local suspect, Gurpreet Ram. The Punjab Police registered the case, and the NIA then took it over and re-registered it on May 9, 2024. Three chargesheets have been filed so far.
It is alleged that Wadhawa Singh, who is known as Babbar and is the head of the BKI in Pakistan, ordered the killing to trigger communal unrest. He asked two operatives based in Germany — Harjit Singh from Nawanshahr, and Kulbeer Singh from Yamunanagar — to plan and execute the attack.
They recruited local hitmen, arranged weapons and ammunition, and transferred funds to India. The initial chargesheet listed Babbar, Harjit and Kulbeer as conspirators who had fled, along with UAE-based Harwinder, who allegedly arranged logistics and finances. He reportedly handled terrorist funds, arranged weapons, and helped deliver them to the hitmen. Indian authorities issued a Red Corner Notice for Harwinder on April 17 and sought his extradition on June 19.
The UAE extradited him to India on October 1. NIA officers arrested him at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday and took him to the Special NIA Court.
