Gangster Goldy Brar’s parents arrested by Punjab police in 2024 extortion case

CHANDIGARH: The parents of foreign-based gangster Goldy Brar were arrested on Monday in connection with a 2024 extortion case in Punjab’s Muktsar district, police said, marking a fresh move in the state’s intensified action against organised crime networks.

Goldy’ father Shamsher Singh, a former assistant sub inspector (ASI) in Punjab Police and mother Preetpal Kaur, resident of Muktsar town of Punjab have been arrested from Amritsar where they were in a hotel. The arrests have been made in a case of extortion and criminal intimidation registered at Muktsar Sadar Police Station on December 2024. Shamsher Singh was compulsorily retired in 2021 after alleged involvement in a murder case.


Muktsar senior superintendent of police Abhimanyu Rana said Brar’s father, Shamsher Singh, and mother, Preetpal Kaur, were taken into custody following investigations linked to an FIR registered last year on the complaint of a local resident. The couple owns a house in Adesh Nagar in Muktsar, though the family originally hails from Faridkot district, he added.

Goldy Brar, also known as Satinderjeet Singh, is a key accused in the 2022 murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala and had publicly claimed responsibility for the killing. He is believed to be currently based in the United States, having moved to Canada on a student visa in 2017 before later shifting abroad.

The arrests come amid a sweeping crackdown by the Punjab Police on gangsters operating from overseas. As part of the drive, police have identified and mapped locations linked to around 1,200 associates of nearly 60 foreign-based gangsters, as well as about 600 of their family members, who are allegedly connected to criminal activities in the state.

Investigators say Brar was earlier a prominent member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang but split from the outfit last year. He is now believed to be associated with the Brar–Rohit Godara–Kala Jatheri gang.

In 2024, the Union government designated Brar a terrorist under anti-terror laws for his alleged role in smuggling high-grade arms, ammunition and explosives into India using drones from across the border, which were allegedly intended for targeted killings.

Police officials said the latest arrests underline the state’s resolve to tighten the noose around gangster networks by acting not only against operatives but also against support systems that enable their activities.