Mastermind of 2016 Nabha jailbreak in Punjab lodged in same prison

Chandigarh, Aug 23 (IANS) The fugitive of the 2016 Nabha jailbreak in Punjab, Ramanjit Singh, also known as Romy, was sent to a 14-day judicial custody by a local court on Friday. He was lodged in the same high-security jail that he was blamed as being the mastermind of the attack by armed men in which six wanted criminals, including two terrorists, escaped.

Romy was extradited by authorities on Thursday from Hong Kong in an operation coordinated by the CBI and Punjab Police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF).

In the early hours of Friday he was produced in the court in Nabha and was sent to judicial custody for 14 days, said officials. He was also taken to the Civil Hospital in Nabha in Patiala district for examination.

Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Thursday said after continuous efforts by the police, Romy was brought back to India to face trial.

Romy was in contact with the ISI and other escaped prisoners, including Harminder Singh Mintu and Kashmir Singh Galwaddi of the Khalistan Liberation Force.

The DGP added that the efforts of the police led to the issuance of the Look Out Circular and Red Corner Notice against Romy.

The extradition process was started in 2018 under a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the Hong Kong government.

Yadav said that the robust presentation of evidence to Hong Kong’s Department of Justice and courts led to Romy’s extradition.

Romy was arrested in Hong Kong for his involvement in a Rs 30-crore robbery in February 2018.

According to the police, Romy, the point man between the terrorists and gangsters, hatched the jailbreak conspiracy sitting abroad. He had provided money, weapons and other logistical support for the jailbreak.

On November 27, 2016, a group of gangsters in police uniforms opened fire at security guards in the high-security Nabha jail and freed four gangsters and two terrorists.

Khalistani terrorist Harminder Singh Mintoo, who escaped during the jailbreak, was arrested in a joint operation by the Punjab Police and the Delhi Police Special Cell within 24 hours of the crime. The main accused in the case, gangster Vicky Gounder, was killed in a police encounter.

As per the police, Romy, a key member of the Shera Khuban/Vicky Gaunder gang, had provided logistics in the form of financial aid, weapons used in the jailbreak, fake IDs used to gain access to the jail and financial support to the gang members in the preparation to execute the crime, besides providing safe houses and hideouts to the prisoners, who had escaped from the jail.

DGP Yadav said through investigation and meticulous operations, 26 accused of the jailbreak were arrested and charge-sheeted. However, Romy, the foreign handler, was declared a proclaimed offender.

“The extradition process was set in motion in 2018 as per the mutual legal assistance treaty with the government of Special Administrative Region (SAR) Hong Kong, where the case was robustly presented to the Department of Justice and the courts of Hong Kong,” said the DGP, adding following which the Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong issued the order for Romy’s surrender on August 6.

Yadav commended the efforts of the entire team of AGTF headed by ADGP Pramod Ban for marking the culmination of an extraordinary international operation with the cooperation of the Ministry of External Affairs that demonstrated the resolve and competence of the Punjab Police.

–IANS

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