Armed men in Indian police uniforms free 5 in jailbreak

NEW DELHI: At least 10 armed men disguised as policemen stormed a high-security prison in Punjab state yesterday and freed a top Sikh militant commander and four others.

The attackers, who travelled in cars, stabbed and injured a guard at the main gate of Nabha Jail in Patiala district and fired several shots before fleeing with the inmates.

Two other guards were injured by the firing during the incident, India’s second major jailbreak in less than a month.

A state-wide alert had been declared and special teams were formed to hunt down the attackers, said H.S. Dhillon, Punjab directorgeneral of police for law and order.

They identified one of the fugitives as Harminder Singh Mintoo, chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force — a militant group fighting for a Sikh homeland in Punjab.

Harminder was arrested in 2014 and is on trial for “terror attacks and funding”.

The four others were part of a local gang and were on trial for murder.

Local media reports said the attackers numbered around 20 and that six prisoners had escaped.

A woman was killed yesterday after police shot at her car when the driver allegedly failed to stop at a checkpoint on a highway, some 25km from Patiala district.

The woman was an artiste travelling with her team to attend a wedding in a neighbouring state, and had no connection to the jailbreak, police said.

Another person was injured.

Four officials, including the Punjab prisons chief and jail superintendent, had been suspended or sacked after the jailbreak.

A reward of 2.5 million rupees (RM158,400) had been offered for information on the escapees.

A senior police officer said the swift assault on Sunday took guards by surprise as the attackers moved quickly through the complex, indicating that they knew the jail layout. AFP