Washington: Haryana gangster Himanshu Bhau, one of India’s most wanted fugitives, and an associate are being held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Nevada, officials have confirmed.
The US government’s online detainee locator, checked on Friday night, lists two Indian-born men, Himanshu Sigroha and Neeraj Kaushik, as being in ICE custody at the Henderson Detention Center at 18 East Basic Road in Henderson, Nevada, outside Las Vegas. Their cases are handled by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) office in Las Vegas.
Officials say the two men are Bhau and his associate Neeraj Faridpuria.
The ICE listing points to immigration custody. No US criminal charges against either man have been found, and neither ICE nor the FBI has issued a public statement on the arrests.
Bhau, whose real name is Himanshu Ritoliya and who hails from Rohtak in Haryana, has been the subject of an Interpol Red Notice since August 2023 and is wanted in 18 cases in India.
Cases include murder, attempted murder, extortion, intimidation and forgery.
Bhau was tracked to Las Vegas and arrested on Thursday, October 22. India was seeking to expedite his deportation proceedings and that a team of officers may travel to the United States.
Faridpuria was picked up after he removed an ankle monitor. He had been detained earlier this year and released on bail.
Bhau’s gang has been linked to high-profile crimes in north India. The gang claimed responsibility for the firing outside the Gurugram home of YouTuber Elvish Yadav in August 2025.
The case is likely to be watched closely by Indian investigators, who have increasingly turned to US immigration proceedings rather than formal extradition to bring back wanted gangsters.
Removal through the immigration system has often proved faster than extradition under the 1997 India-US extradition treaty, which requires a lengthy court process.
The most recent precedent is that of Anmol Bishnoi, who was detained in the United States in 2024 and deported to India on November 19, 2025. He was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on arrival in New Delhi.
Whether Bhau and Faridpuria will face a similar path depends on the outcome of their immigration cases, including any claim for asylum or other relief they may file before a US immigration judge.
The Henderson Detention Center is a city-run facility that holds ICE detainees under an agreement with the federal agency.
(IANS)
