By JEN BAYLON
An Indian national, who has allegedly committed criminal offenses in his country, was arrested by authorities in Bacolod City’s Barangay Taculing on Monday, July 8, after he was found staying in the city for two years.
The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) said 40-year-old Joginder Geong, also known as “Joginder Geyong” and “Kant Gupta,” was an alleged leader of an organized crime syndicate in India.
Geong had been sentenced to life imprisonment for violating arms laws in his home country, police said.
He was considered an undesirable alien for violating the Philippine Immigration Act, they added.
Geong was escorted by the arresting authorities towards a police service vehicle at 5:18 p.m. on Monday, following a request from the Indian government for the arrest.
He was taken into custody of the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) Fugitive Search Unit.
BCPO Station 6 chief, Police Captain Dax Santillan, said Geong was using a fake Nepalese passport, and possessing a valid driver’s license from the Land Transportation Office.
Santillan said the Indian national has been renting a house in Taculing since 2022, and has opened a small business in the village.
He added that the BCPO received information that Geong was staying in a rented house for two weeks.
Meanwhile, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, in a statement yesterday, said Indian authorities have described Geong as a “notorious criminal with a history of serious offenses, including murder, extortion and robbery.”
Tansingco added that Geong is “suspected of heading an organized crime syndicate,” and was “sentenced to life imprisonment for firearms possession cases in India.”
The BI said that the Indian national is “believed to have links to the Khalistani terror group, which has waged an armed separatist rebellion, with the aim of establishing an independent Sikh state in Punjab province.”
Tansingco said Geong will be deported for being an “undesirable, undocumented and illegally staying alien.” / With reports from GMA Integrated News / JB, WDJ