The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has successfully secured the return to India of a long-absconding accused Harnek Singh, who had been evading investigation and trial since 2013 in connection with cases related to cheating and forgery.Singh, against whom an Interpol Red Notice and a Look-Out Circular (LOC) were in force, was deported from the US and apprehended by CBI officials on his arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, on Wednesday.He is likely to be produced before the Court of the Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI Cases), Panchkula, Haryana, at the earliest, sources said.A case was registered by the CBI, Delhi, in 2016 for offences of conspiracy, cheating, forgery and using forged documents as genuine under the IPC and for offences under Information Technology Act.Investigation revealed that during 2013, Indian nationals residing or working in Singapore were contacted through spoofed calls by fraudsters operating from India, who impersonated officials of Singapore Immigration authorities.The victims were falsely informed that they had furnished incorrect information in their disembarkation forms at the airport and were liable to criminal prosecution and deportation.They were thereafter induced to pay purported settlement fees/fines through Western Union Money Transfer to designated receivers in India.The investigation established that the cheated money was received through a money-transfer outlet allegedly operated by Harnek Singh, in association with co-accused Aditya Bhardwaj and Deepak Jain, CBI sources said.Singh had fled India in May 2013 and subsequently entered the US illegally, where he remained absconding for more than a decade.While Harnek Singh continued to remain absconding, the trial against co-accused Aditya Bhardwaj and Deepak Jain was concluded before the CBI court and both were convicted on May 26, 2025.Despite summons and a bailable warrant having been served upon him in the USA through the US Department of Justice, Harnek Singh had failed to appear before the trial Court.Consequently, an open-dated non-bailable warrant of arrest was issued against him by the Court of the Special Judicial Magistrate, CBI, Panchkula, on April 22, 2024.The CBI thereafter pursued the matter through Interpol channels, resulting in the publication of an Interpol Red Notice against him, and also caused a Look-Out Circular to be opened against his passport.