DEHRADUN TURNS INTO HAVEN FOR PUNJAB GANGSTERS

DEHRADUN: Punjab’s wanted gangster Harsimrandeep Singh, alias Simma, who was arrested by a joint team of the Punjab and Dehradun police on Saturday, is not the only hardened criminal who chose to lie low in Doon.

In one of the most sensational arrests, two aides of the Nabha jailbreak mastermind Parminder Singh, alias Penda, were found staying at Dehradun’s Raipur area in November 2016. It was suspected that the Nabha jailbreak – which saw Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harminder, alias Mintoo, along with five others escape from the Punjab prison – was planned at their hideout.

Former director general of police Aloke Bihari Lal said a criminal rushing away to evade arrest has two things in mind. “They run away from the safest escape route and they’d like to go to a place (to hide) where there’s possibility of an easy hideout.”

Being a gateway to Garhwal hills and the base for hill towns like Mussoorie, Dhanaulti and Chakrata, Dehradun gets more than 20 lakh tourists annually. It is well connected with Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi by roads. “The distance can be easily covered in a matter of a few hours.”

Additional director general of police, law and order, Ashok Kumar said such criminals often take advantage of interstate boundaries as officials in other states may not know about ‘wanted status’.