One of India’s most-wanted criminal suspects is among eight people arrested in San Joaquin County in connection with a gang-related kidnapping and torture case, authorities said.
According to international reports, Pavittar Singh Batala is linked to Babbar Khalsa International, a militant Sikh group that India lists as a terrorist organization. The Times of India, one of the country’s largest English-language newspapers, reported that the fugitive was among those arrested Friday in California by the FBI as part of an ongoing operation against organized crime.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said the arrests were part of a campaign called Summer Heat aimed at “targeting violent offenders and gang members who terrorize our communities.”…