Nabha Jailbreak: Congress warns of large scale assassinations

Sangrur [India], Nov. 27 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday called for an emergency meeting in the wake of the jailbreak in which the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief and noted terrorist Harminder Singh Mintoo and four other prisoners escaped from the Nabha prison today. Meanwhile, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal set up a Special Task Force to track the movement of Mintoo and four other prisoners. He said that the Director General of Police (Jail) has been suspended, while the Superintendent and the Deputy Superintendent of Police of the jail have been dismissed. Badal said that a separate Additional Director General of Police-led team has been tasked to assess the incident that led to the jail break. "The state home Secretary will give me a report on wherever lapses have taken place and strict action will be taken on the responsible one," Badal told media here. He also said that his government will ensure that the incident will not have any adverse impact on the sixth Heart of Asia Conference scheduled to be held in Amritsar on December 3. On the other hand, alleging connivance of the Parkash Badal Government, Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh said the incident had exposed a complete breakdown of law and order in the state, while triggering fears of revival of terrorism ahead of the Assembly elections. Amarinder asserted that the shocking manner in which the gangsters walked into the high-security jail and freed a Khalistani terrorist along with other convicts clearly shows complicity at the highest levels. Earlier today, around 10 men, masquerading in police uniform, broke into the jail and helped Harminder Mintoo and four of his cohorts to escape. The four prisoners have been identified as Gurpreet Singh, Vicky Gondra, Nitin Deol and Vikramjeet Singh. Mintoo was arrested by Punjab Police from Delhi's IGI airport on November 2014 while he was on his way back from Thailand. The 47-year-old is wanted in 10 terror-related cases, including the 2008 attack on Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and the 2010 recovery of explosives at Halwara Air Force station. He is wanted for plotting the killings of three Punjab Shiv Sena leaders. (ANI)