MASTERMIND’S MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE PUZZLES COPS

LUCKNOW:The Uttar Pradesh and Punjab Police are puzzled reportedly over the mysterious police detention and then disappearance of a mastermind of Nabha jailbreak, Gopi Ghanshampuria, alias Gurupreet Singh, from Lucknow.

Sources said the information of Ghanshampuria’s police detention went viral when one of his close accomplices, Vicky Gounder, who had also escaped during the jailbreak along with five others, posted about it on his Facebook wall around a week ago. The post read that the police have detained Ghanshampuria from the Lucknow bus stand on September 10 but his arrest was not shown anywhere in UP or Punjab till Tuesday.

“Moreover, the arrest of Ghanshampuria’s three accomplices, who allegedly tried to free him from police custody by giving ₹45 lakh to a senior police official a Lucknow hotel, added more spice in his mysterious detention,” said the source.

He said the Punjab police have arrested Ghanshampura’s three aides — Sandip Tewari, alias Pintu, Amandeep Singh and Harjinder Singh Kahlon — from Lucknow with help of UP anti terror squad (ATS) on September 15 and later presented him in an Amristar court in another case of kidnapping. Inspector general (IG) of UP anti-terrorist squad, Asim Arun, on Tuesday confirmed about the trio’s arrest. He said they were held on Punjab Police tip off and later handed over to them for further proceedings.

Source said Sandip Tewari, a local contractor, who also contested 2012 assembly election as a candidate of national political party from Sultanpur. He said the second accused Kahlon is one of the petitioners in 1991 fake encounter of 10 Sikh pilgrims in Pilibhit.

He said the third accused, Amandeep Singh, is a businessman of Ranikhet, who has relations with a Punjab liquor trader Rimple.