Washington, July 18: An organised crime syndicate recruited vulnerable young people from India by promising money, power and opportunities to migrate to countries including the United States and Canada, while allegedly paying some recruits as little as Rs 20,000 ($200) to commit murders, according to a sweeping US federal indictment.

The 44-page indictment, a copy of which was obtained by IANS, provides a rare look into what US prosecutors describe as the recruitment model of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Organised Crime Group, a transnational criminal organisation alleged to have expanded from Punjab into North America, Europe and Oceania.

Filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, the indictment charges 15 defendants, including alleged gang leader Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Indian national Nitish Kaushal, who was arrested by the FBI in Vermont this week after being placed on its Most Wanted list.

According to the indictment, the Bhagwanpuria Organised Crime Group originated in Punjab under the leadership of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, who prosecutors allege later built an international criminal network after breaking away from the Lawrence Bishnoi organised crime group. Investigators allege the organisation eventually grew into a transnational syndicate headquartered in India with members across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

One of the indictment’s most striking allegations concerns how the organisation allegedly recruited its members.

According to prosecutors, the group primarily targeted “vulnerable, disadvantaged populations in India” and deliberately recruited minors because they faced lower criminal penalties if caught committing violent crimes.

The indictment alleges that in certain parts of India, the organisation paid recruits “as little as 20,000 rupees, or approximately $200, to commit murder on behalf of the enterprise.”

US prosecutors further allege that recruitment coordinators enticed young people by promising “money, notoriety, power, and the ability to escape India.”

According to the indictment, recruiters also sought individuals who could qualify for student visas or foreign work visas. Prosecutors allege that members who demonstrated loyalty to the organisation were rewarded by being sent to operate in foreign countries, including the United States and Canada.

The court filing alleges the gang viewed overseas expansion as an important part of its criminal operations.

According to prosecutors, the organisation eventually established more than 1,000 members and associates worldwide, including more than 100 in the United States. Members allegedly engaged in criminal activities ranging from murder and kidnapping to drug trafficking, extortion, firearms trafficking, money laundering and human smuggling.

The indictment further alleges that members understood it was “difficult, if not impossible,” to leave the organisation.

According to prosecutors, members believed that if they were considered disloyal, other members of the organisation would kill or otherwise harm them or their family members, particularly relatives living in India. The indictment alleges the organisation threatened, and in some cases carried out, violence against members and their families if they were suspected of cooperating with law enforcement or otherwise acting against the group’s interests.

US prosecutors allege the organisation used violence not only to eliminate rivals but also to maintain discipline within its own ranks.

The indictment states that the gang accepted murder-for-hire contracts, kidnapped rivals, trafficked narcotics across North America and used extortion schemes targeting victims in both the United States and India. Prosecutors also allege that proceeds from criminal activities were routed back to the organisation’s leadership in India.

Members of the organisation allegedly relied on encrypted communication platforms to coordinate criminal activities and identify extortion targets. Prosecutors allege they frequently gathered information about victims’ relatives living in India and threatened family members to force payment of extortion demands.

The indictment additionally alleges that gang members worked with corrupt law enforcement officials in Punjab by providing false information against rivals, leading to allegedly fabricated criminal cases that were later used to extort money from victims. Those allegations remain unproven.

US authorities contend that the recruitment strategy helped transform what began as a regional criminal group into an international organised crime network with operations stretching across multiple continents. Prosecutors allege the organisation established drug trafficking routes throughout the United States, smuggled firearms into Canada and coordinated violent crimes from India using encrypted communications and contraband mobile phones.

Tehran, July 18: A top Iranian military adviser warned that if the United States continues the war against Iran for another two to three days, the country will enter an “offensive and destructive” phase.

Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said in an interview with state-run IRIB TV that the policy of “both war and negotiation” has ended, adding that if US attacks continue, Iran’s armed forces will no longer limit themselves to retaliatory strikes, and US bases and forces will no longer be safe within any political borders, Xinhua news agency reported.

Rezaei said Iran has so far exercised restraint to prevent the war from expanding into a broader regional and international crisis, accusing the United States of miscalculating by turning the war into a regional one.

He warned that if the United States continues its anti-Iran actions, Iran will deploy additional military capabilities, including ground forces, and the war’s scope will expand.

Rezaei also called on the peoples of regional countries, including Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, to help prevent further escalation.

He noted that even at the current stage, Iran’s responses to the US attacks have been “very heavy,” warning that the intensity of Iranian military operations will increase in the coming days.

“The United States must wait for expanded waves of missile and drone attacks,” Rezaei said, cautioning Washington against any ground operation against Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Friday that Iranian forces targeted a “violating” vessel in the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the day.

Citing an informed military source, Tasnim said that the Thai-flagged vessel attempted to cross the strait without obtaining necessary permissions from the Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps and ignored warnings.

Over the past several days, the US military has launched multiple waves of strikes against Iran’s southern provinces, claiming that the attacks are in response to the Iranian armed forces’ targeting of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and aimed at “degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping.”

Iran has responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting US military bases and facilities across the region.

Mumbai, July 18: The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Saturday came down heavily on the central government for allegedly ignoring and defaming climate activist Sonam Wangchuk.

In an editorial published in the party mouthpiece Saamana, it said Wangchuk, along with a student named Neha, has been on a hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for the past 21 days, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the widespread NEET-UG question paper leak scandal.

The editorial strongly defended Wangchuk, saying he had travelled from Ladakh to New Delhi to “save the nation”. It also lashed out at alleged corporate land grabbing in Ladakh, claiming the region’s fragile tribal ecosystem was being destroyed.

“When Wangchuk raised his voice against this institutional looting, he became undesirable to PM Modi. Fighting for one’s rights has effectively become a crime in independent India,” the editorial remarked, adding that Wangchuk’s fight belongs to every citizen.

The Thackeray camp also sharply criticised BJP leaders for allegedly trying to malign Ramon Magsaysay and Padma awardee Sonam Wangchuk. It specifically targeted BJP MP Manoj Tiwari for describing Wangchuk as a member of the “Aam Aadmi gang” and calling him an “obstacle” to India’s growth.

Retorting to Tiwari’s remarks, the editorial criticised his background in Bhojpuri cinema and accused the ruling party of harbouring individuals who justify theft, even drawing parallels to corruption surrounding the Ram Temple funds. It further noted that the BJP had no qualms about aligning with the Aam Aadmi Party during Anna Hazare’s historic anti-corruption movement at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi years ago.

Highlighting the gravity of the NEET paper leak, the editorial pointed out that the scam has driven millions of students into deep depression, resulting in 20 to 25 student suicides.

“In this regime, human life has lost its value. Let students die, let farmers die, let soldiers perish in Pulwama, or tourists in Kashmir—this government remains completely unfazed,” said the editorial.

It added that doctors have expressed extreme concern for the life of Neha, the student fasting alongside Wangchuk, yet the government has shown zero empathy.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena drew a sharp contrast between PM Modi’s international public relations and his domestic apathy. It mocked the Prime Minister for travelling abroad to meet Italian PM Giorgia Meloni with “Melody chocolates” while refusing to walk just a few furlongs from his residence to offer a glass of water to a dying activist.

The Thackeray camp hailed Wangchuk’s invaluable contributions to national security —specifically his invention of solar-powered insulated tents that keep Indian soldiers warm at +15°C even when outside temperatures plummet to -14°C in high-altitude border zones.

Concluding with a stern warning, the editorial stated that the “arrogance and cruelty” currently displayed by the BJP echoes the hubris of historical tyrants like Ravana, Duryodhana, Hitler, Idi Amin, and Aurangzeb.

“History shows that such arrogance eventually turns to dust. The bubbling ego of the BJP over Wangchuk’s hunger strike will meet the same fate,” the editorial commented.