E-Paper
Gangster booked for running extortion, drug racket from Punjab jail
Gangster Saraj Sandhu Mintoo, who is a co-accused in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, is also suspected to have access to his Instagram account while being lodged in jail
A day after Punjab prison minister Harjot Bains’ intervention, the district police on Tuesday registered a case against gangster Saraj Sandhu, alias Mintoo, for allegedly running an extortion and drug trafficking racket from the high-security Bathinda prison.
Mintoo, who is a co-accused in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, is also suspected to have access to his Instagram account while being behind the bars.
According to the FIR lodged on the complaint of deputy jail superintendent Bhupinder Singh at the Cantonment police station, Mintoo, who is undergoing trial in another murder case, is suspected to have been abusing the prison inmate calling system (PICS).
However, the FIR had no specific reference to any incident or complaint against Mintoo for indulging in the illicit drug trade or making extortion calls from jail. It has been registered under Section 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code besides under the NDPS Act and Prison Act.
The FIR stated that the gangster may have been using PICS to contact his accomplices for the illegal business of narcotics and extortion. In Punjab, prisoners are allowed to use PICS to make calls of 15-minute duration daily on any of the 10 pre-approved phone numbers.
The complaint stated the criminal may also have uploaded content online with the help of his accomplices. Earlier, on Sunday, a music story surfaced on Mintoo’s purported Instagram page.
Minister Bains on Monday had stated that Mintoo’s social media account was not operated from jail. Sources said the cyber cell of Bathinda police has approached Instagram to track the place from where the social media page is being operated.
