Senior cop among 3 arrested for helping Nabha criminals escape Police verify Mintoo’s claims of ISI connection
PATIALA: Assistant superintendent Bhim Singh and head warder Jagmeet Singh of the Nabha Maximum Security Prison — from where Khalistani militant Harminder Singh Mintoo and five other criminals escaped on Sunday — were formally arrested on Tuesday.
Tejinder Sharma, owner of a sweetshop just outside the jail, has also been held along with two officials, who were in detention since the escape.
Claiming clinching evidence against them, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said transactions showing Bhim Singh having got money for his collusion have come to the fore. Bhim Singh, who was on night duty before the 9am escape, had held a “detailed meeting” with the escapees an hour and a half before a group of armed men attacked the jail and took away the men. It was Bhim who helped the inmates come near the lobby area from where they got a pistol handed to them by the attackers and took a security guard hostage, it is alleged.
“In fact, Bhim Singh also met them a day before the crime. We have traced some phone calls made by escapees to the jailbreak plotters coinciding with the time when Bhim Singh and warder Jagmeet met them.” said the SSP. ‘UNBLOCKABLE’ 4G
Warder Jagmeet was the facilitator of phones and internet through which the escapees used Skype and Whatsapp to contact their gangs, the SSP said, adding that involvement of more officials is also suspected as the police have tracked 27 internet-based calls made from the jail. Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Mintoo, who has since been rearrested, made calls abroad through Skype as the jammers in the jail were not enabled to block 4G signal.
As for Tejinder Sharma, he has been arrested as he used to provide food to the escapees. “Sharma was also hand-inglove with Jagmeet,” said the SSP. Sources said it was through Jagmeet that Bhim Singh came in contact with the escapees including gangster Vicky Gounder, and started providing mobile phone, and other facilities for money.
STAFF DID NOTHING TO STOP ESCAPE: FIR
In all, nine jail officials in the FIR registered on Monday on the basis of a statement by assistant sub-inspector Shivdev Singh, who was present in the jail at the time of the incident for some official work. He said when he heard gunshots and alerted the officials, who didn’t bother to chase the accused and did not even fire a shot.
(Inputs from Mohit Singla) NEW DELHI: Delhi police are verifying Sikh militant leader Harminder Singh Mintoo’s claims that he was receiving directives from Pakistani spy agency ISI.
Mintoo (49), who was arrested here on Monday after fleeing from a Punjab prison, reportedly disclosed the names of his two alleged ISI handlers during questioning. The self-styled chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force said one of them was based in Lahore while the other operated from a European country. Police refused to disclose the names, saying they were yet to be verified.
The militant leader was arrested from the parking lot of the Nizamuddin railway station 17 hours after a group of armed men stormed the Nabha Jail in Punjab, freeing him and five others. A pistol with six cartridges, ₹9,800 in cash, and a small diary were recovered from his possession.
Investigators said the diary had eight to ten phone numbers of his ISI contacts across Pakistan, Germany, Malaysia and Thailand — besides the mobile numbers of fellow inmates at Nabha Jail. Mintoo’s handlers had reportedly tasked him with reviving the KLF’S base in Punjab by recruiting inmates.
The militant leader told police that he had learnt about the jailbreak plan a fortnight ago. Mintoo was reportedly provided around ₹25,000 by his handlers to handle things inside the prison. A special team is in Punjab to nab the person who gave him the money. The role of jail staffers is also being probed.
Efforts are also on to nab Kashmeer Singh, Mintoo’s accomplice, who was believed to be in the neighbourhood when he was arrested. Police are checking footage from CCTV cameras installed in nearby areas.