Long before he became a gangster, Gurwinder Singh of Toot village in Tarn Taran earned the nickname ‘Afridi’ on the cricket field for hitting giant sixes like Shahid Afridi, stepping out of the crease.Gurwinder would soon step out of the crease of life and turn into a gangster after getting involved in local quarrels. He retained the name he loved on the cricket field even after turning to crime and used it to introduce himself during extortion calls.Punjab Police creatively used the codename “Operation Shahid” — not to be confused with ‘Shaheed’, meaning martyr — after the cricketer’s first name, for the operation to trace him abroad and arrest him.Gurwinder alias Afridi, son of Bhagwant Singh, is from the Sadar Patti police station area of Tarn Taran district. He is wanted in about 35 cases, including five murders, besides the accidental killing of a 12-year-old boy. Police describe him as a key operative of the Doni Bal, Mann Ghanshampuria and Prabh Dasuwal gang, linked to the Bambiha and Gopi Ghanshampuria network. A reward of Rs 5 lakh had been announced for his arrest.In 2018, an FIR under Section 326 of the IPC was registered against him in connection with an incident involving a quarrel and assault. He remained lodged in Patti Jail for 21 days. During his stay, he came into contact with gangster Prabh Dasuwal, who was also lodged in the same jail at that time. This association reportedly marked the beginning of his involvement in organised criminal activities, initially in association with Prabh Dasuwal.His cases include murder, attempt to murder, extortion, firing at houses and businesses, and offences under the NDPS and Arms Acts. Police also link him to drone-based smuggling of weapons and narcotics from Pakistan.The affected areas include Patti, Goindwal Sahib, Bhikhiwind, Harike and Khem Karan in Tarn Taran, Mallanwala and Zira in Ferozepur, and Mehta in Amritsar Rural.Five murdersAccording to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, the first of the five murder cases is that of Rajwinder Singh alias Raj Talwandi, an AAP sarpanch, in October 2024. In March 2025, 12-year-old Gursewak Singh was accidentally shot during prize distribution at a football tournament in Khabbe Rajputan. Days later, Vicky Chugh was shot while serving langar in Chungh village. Both cases were registered at the Mehta police station.Jaswant Singh was shot at a farm store in Dubbli village in May 2025. Gurmel Singh, a Congress block president and former sarpanch of Toot, was shot dead in September 2025. Both cases were registered at Sadar Patti.Extortion from abroadAfridi left from Mumbai airport for the UAE on March 31, 2025. He continued to run an extortion racket in Punjab from abroad. About 20 of the cases against him for extortion were registered after he left the country.Police said the demands came as WhatsApp calls and voice notes from virtual numbers of France, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the UAE. The caller identified himself as “Afridi Toot” or “Afridi Toota Wala”. Demands ranged from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore per victim.The targets included commission agents, farmers, dairy owners, shopkeepers, a rice-mill owner, a petrol-pump owner, a restaurant owner, a school-owning family, an immigration consultant and a retired civil surgeon’s hospital. Shots were fired at the homes and businesses of those who refused. Police cited Rai Hospital in Patti in June 2026, a cattle farmhouse at Rukne Wala in July, and a house and petrol pump at Dubli in September. The latest case, registered on October 17 at the Harike police station, records a Rs 50 lakh demand with a death threat.His men interceptedDGP Gaurav Yadav said Operation Shahid was an international operation. He said they repeatedly intercepted the men Afridi sent to carry out his threats. In September 2024, two weapon smugglers working on his directions were arrested at Sadar Patti after one fired at a police party. In February 2025, two associates of Prabh Dasuwal and Afridi were injured and arrested after firing at a check barrier in Khem Karan.On December 31, 2025, the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) and Tarn Taran police arrested four men with weapons who were planning targeted firing in the border area at the behest of Afridi and Doni Bal. On August 9, 2026, two men were arrested at Mallanwala in Ferozepur after firing at an Independence Day naka. Police recovered .32 and .30 bore pistols from them.The chase abroadThe passport Afridi used was issued from Lucknow on February 12, 2025, in the name of “Vijendra Singh”, a resident of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, on fake particulars.Police located him in the UAE in January 2026, but he evaded arrest. They then had an INTERPOL Red Notice issued on priority through NCB-India. He tried to fly from the UAE to Mexico via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, but the attempt failed and he was sent back to the UAE.In April 2026, he left for Kenya, where police tracked him through sustained intelligence work. In June, he moved to Luanda in Angola. Throughout this period, details of his fake passport and movements were shared with central agencies, and seven INTERPOL references were issued to countries in Asia, Africa and South America.A team of Punjab AGTF led by SP Bikram Singh Sidhu brought him back after they ran the manhunt with the Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell (OFTEC) and central agencies. Special DGP, AGTF, Promod Ban supervised it, with IGP, OFTEC (Counter Intelligence Wing), Ashish Chaudhary overseeing coordination with international agencies.In November, his presence was confirmed in Ethiopia. Police set up liaison with INTERPOL, central agencies, the Indian Embassy in Ethiopia and Ethiopian authorities.