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Harwinder Kumar, also known as Sonu Barnala, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after being deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to India on October 1, 2026, according to reports. Investigators allege he helped people involved in the 2024 killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Vikas Prabhakar; those allegations have not been established as a finding of guilt.
Who is Sonu Barnala?
Sonu Barnala is the alias reported for Harwinder Kumar. The NIA alleges that, while based in the UAE, he helped operatives connected to Prabhakar’s killing by arranging weapons and their delivery, handling or recruiting operatives, and receiving or transferring money. News reports link those allegations to Germany-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operatives Harjit Singh, also known as Laddi, and Kulbeer Singh, also known as Sidhu. These are investigators’ allegations in an ongoing criminal case, not proof of Kumar’s guilt. Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express reported the claims on October 1, 2026.
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Why was he deported from the UAE and arrested?
Indian authorities sought Kumar in connection with the NIA’s investigation into Prabhakar’s murder. Reports say Kumar was deported from the UAE on October 1, 2026, and arrested by the NIA at Indira Gandhi International Airport after arriving in India. The New Indian Express reported that he was produced before a Special NIA Court for further proceedings. The Tribune reported that a Delhi court granted him two days of transit remand to the NIA Chandigarh unit.
There is a discrepancy in reports about June 19, 2026: The New Indian Express described it as the date Indian agencies requested Kumar’s handover, while a Hindustan Times report said UAE authorities handed him over on that date and also reported his deportation on October 1. Without a primary record resolving the difference, June 19 should not be treated as a settled handover date. The reported October 1 deportation and arrest are the clearer developments.
What is the Vikas Prabhakar murder case?
Vikas Prabhakar, a VHP leader, was shot dead at his confectionery shop in Nangal, in Punjab’s Rupnagar district, on April 13, 2024. The NIA took over the investigation on May 9, 2024, under case number RC-06/2024/NIA/DLI, according to The New Indian Express. That outlet reported that the agency had filed three chargesheets as of October 1, 2026; filing chargesheets is a procedural milestone, not a judicial determination of guilt.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in a statement quoted by Hindustan Times, alleged that BKI operatives killed Prabhakar as part of a conspiracy to create communal unrest at the behest of Pakistan-based BKI chief Wadhawa Singh, also known as Babbar. This is the government’s characterization of the alleged motive, not an independently established court finding.
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What happens next in the case?
The reports establish Kumar’s arrest and immediate court-related steps, but do not establish what happened after the reported two-day transit-remand period or the later disposition of the case. Arrest, remand and chargesheets are stages in criminal proceedings; none alone determines guilt. No final judicial outcome is established in the reports cited here.
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