Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday inducted gangster-turned-politician Gurpreet Singh Sekhon into the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), formally welcoming him into the ruling party fold at a public rally organised by Sekhon in Zira, months ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.
Mann presented Sekhon with a siropa as he welcomed him into AAP, marking a politically significant turn for the former gangster who, after years of incarceration and a controversial criminal past, has sought to reinvent himself as a social worker and build a political base in the Ferozepur region.
The induction assumes significance amid speculation that Sekhon could emerge as AAP’s candidate from Zira, a constituency currently represented by party MLA Naresh Kataria, who was present at Sunday’s event.
Sekhon, who hails from Mudki in Ferozepur district, shot into prominence following the sensational Nabha jailbreak in November 2016, when armed men stormed the high-security prison and freed six inmates, including Harminder Singh Mintoo. Police had named Sekhon among the key accused. He was arrested in February 2017 and subsequently convicted in the case.
In March 2023, a trial court sentenced Sekhon to 10-year imprisonment for offences including attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy. The stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) initially invoked in the case were not sustained by the trial court. Sekhon was released from jail on November 22, 2023, after the Punjab and Haryana high court suspended his conviction while hearing his appeal against the trial court verdict. His appeal is pending.
{{/usCountry}}In March 2023, a trial court sentenced Sekhon to 10-year imprisonment for offences including attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy. The stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) initially invoked in the case were not sustained by the trial court. Sekhon was released from jail on November 22, 2023, after the Punjab and Haryana high court suspended his conviction while hearing his appeal against the trial court verdict. His appeal is pending.
{{/usCountry}}Sekhon was also acquitted in the 2015 murder case of gangster Sukhvir Singh, alias Sukha Kahlwan, with a Kapurthala court acquitting eight accused, including him, in February 2019 for lack of sufficient evidence. Police had also linked Sekhon with the Jaipal gang and gangsters including Vicky Gounder and Shera Khubban. Dozens of criminal cases have been registered against him over the years, though the outcomes and present status of individual cases vary.
Since his release, Sekhon has sought to shed his gangster image and position himself as a social worker, gradually expanding his footprint in local politics. His political clout became visible during the 2025 rural local-body elections when two women from his family won Zila Parishad seats with the backing of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Sekhon campaigned for them and subsequently signalled his intention to contest the 2027 assembly elections.
His political trajectory later tilted towards AAP. Sekhon campaigned for the ruling party’s nominees in the Nagar Panchayat elections in Mudki and Mamdot, where AAP secured a majority.
Mann defends Sekhon’s transformation
Addressing the gathering, Mann defended Sekhon’s transformation without directly dwelling on his criminal history.
“Circumstances may sometimes compel a person to take certain decisions, but when someone chooses the right path and dedicates himself to public service, people accept and support him,” Mann said.
Mann also projected his government’s performance, claiming Punjab had moved towards politics centred on development and delivery. He said Punjab, which ranked 27th in education in 2021, had now reached the top position in the country in primary education.
Taking a swipe at the SAD, Mann alleged that previous governments had allowed drugs and gangsterism to take root in Punjab. He said 95,881 drug traffickers had been arrested and their properties seized under the AAP government’s “Yudh Nasheyan Virudh” campaign. He also claimed the Anti-Gangster Task Force had arrested 2,858 gangsters and dismantled 1,105 gangs.
During the rally, Sekhon reciprocated by honouring Mann with a siropa and a kirpan.
Warring flays AAP govt
Meanwhile, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, accompanied by former MLA Kulbir Singh Zira and party workers, staged a black-flag protest against chief minister Bhagwant Mann here on Sunday, alleging that the government was “mainstreaming gangsterism in politics”.
Condemning the induction of a person with a criminal past into AAP, Warring warned that it could encourage a dangerous trend of criminals entering politics to “wash off” their past. He urged Mann not to incentivise gangster culture.