Gangster Gounder, militant, handler among eight accused who are at large
PATIALA: A year after the sensational Nabha jailbreak, wherein two militants and four gangsters escaped the so-called maximumsecurity prison with the help of 15 other gangsters, the police have failed to nab eight accused, including two escapees and a Hong Kong-based handler.
Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harminder Singh Mintoo, another militant Kashmir Singh and gangsters Vicky Gounder, Gurpreet Singh Sekhon, Neeta Deol and Amandeep Dhotian had escaped on the morning of November 27 last year. The daring act, the kind of which was never seen even during the heydays of militancy in Punjab, had rocked the nation.
The gangsters, three of them dressed as policemen, broke open the high security jail and freed the six inmates after indulging in indiscriminate firing, leaving the jail staff and police helpless. Police later re-arrested KLF chief Mintoo, gangsters Gurpreet Singh Sekhon, Neeta Deol, Amandeep Dhotian, but militant Kashmir Singh and gangster Gounder are still eluding the police net.
Apart from the six escapees and 15 attackers, there were 15 others who had helped or har- boured the gangsters. Superintendent of police (detective) Harvinder Singh Virk said 28 accused have so far been arrested in the case, which include four escapees, 11 perpetrators and 14 others who helped the gangsters involved.
“Eight accused, including two escapees and four perpetrators, are still at large. Various teams are working to nab them. Police have also alerted central agencies to nab Hong Kong-based Romi, who was handling and funding the jailbreak operation,” he added. Meanwhile, nine jail officials and other private individuals, who were booked earlier, were found innocent during the probes. Their names were later dropped from the FIR.
GOUNDER A MAJOR HEADACHE FOR COPS
After the jailbreak, Gounder has a major headache for the police as he and his gang members have been indulging in murder, loot and ransom ever since.
Gounder was spotted several times in Punjab, but the police could not arrest him. He and his associates murdered three members of a rival gang, kidnapped two doctors for ransom and have been also collecting protection money from certain individuals, said a police official, requesting anonymity. Harry Chatha of Amritsar, Sukhmeet Singh Sukha Gurdaspur, Gurpreet Singh Gopi Ghanshampuria, Gurpreet Kaura and Jalandhar-based Prema Lahoria were the gangsters, who were involved in the jailbreak, but are still on the run. They are now active in various criminal activities. Punjab director general of police (DGP) Suresh Arora recently directed police officials to launch a massive manhunt to nab Gounder and the other accused who are still eluding the police.
PLANNING AND EXECUTION OF CRIME
As per the prosecution, Hong Kong-based Romi provided funds, and gangster Gurpreet Sekhon and Neeta Deol, who were close to KLF chief Mintoo took the challenge to break the jail, saying “they will do what militants could not dare to do”.