Attack on Kapurthala jail DSP was directed from prison
JALANDHAR/KAPURTHALA: The murderous attack on the deputy superintendent of police (jails) Vikramjeet Panthe, who got injured after two unidentified assailants opened fire at him on Saturday night when he was on his way from Jalandhar to Kapurthala in his car, was directed from the jail.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that the gangsters in Kapurthala jail had kept a vigil on Panthe’s movements and on Saturday he was moving without a guard. Panthe had taken a halfday leave and come to Jalandhar with his wife in his private car.
The probe found that the gangsters had all information and they allegedly contacted their accomplices outside and got carried out the attack on him by two motorcyclists, who followed his car from Model Town till Kapurthala road.
Sources in the jail department said that a week ago, a clash had taken place between two groups of gangsters at the Modern Jail, Kapurthala, and when policeman Madhusudhan tried to control them, notorious criminal Paramjit Singh alias Rinka, who is undergoing life imprisonment, attacked him.
Sources said Rinka also threatened Panthe when he intervened, saying they would deal with him outside the jail. Sources said many jail officials had also received threats from the gangster. They said the intelligence wing had even alerted the authorities that gangsters might attack Panthe.
Sources said Sukha and Harry of Ludhiana, close aides of gangster Sukha Kahlawan who are now in the Kapurthala jail, were also suspected to be involved in the attack as Panthe had locked them in a dark cell as punishment two months ago. They said both had had a heated argument with Panthe in the Patiala jail when he was deputed there.
Sources said one of their accomplices, Sukhi, had recently run away from custody and he was attached with the Sukha gang.
Panthe, who is undergoing treatment at a local hospital, claimed that he could not reveal anything at this stage as it could hamper the investigations.
Deputy commissioner of police Rajinder Singh said they were investigating the attack and the police would soon nab the assailants.