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Nabha jailbreak: Sekhon aide plotted great escape, executed by Pinda

Palwinder Singh ‘Pinda’, who was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police from Kairana in Shamli district, has revealed that Gurpreet Sekhon, who was lodged in the Nabha prison, and Jalandhar-based gangster Prem Lahoria plotted the jailbreak, while he executed it.

Updated on: Nov 28, 2016, 13:50:18 IST
Hindustan times | By , Patiala
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Palwinder Singh ‘Pinda’, who was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police from Kairana in Shamli district, has revealed that Gurpreet Sekhon, who was lodged in the Nabha prison, and Jalandhar-based gangster Prem Lahoria plotted the jailbreak, while he executed it.

Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, ADGP (jails) MK Tiwari and DGP Suresh Arora after jailbreak at the maximum-security Nabha jail. (Bharat Bhushan/HT Photo)
Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, ADGP (jails) MK Tiwari and DGP Suresh Arora after jailbreak at the maximum-security Nabha jail. (Bharat Bhushan/HT Photo)

Sources said Sekhon and Lahoria also involved KLF militants, who promised them of heavy funding. Lahoria assigned the task to Palwinder, who escaped from the Nabha jail when he was being taken to the civil hospital in March this year.

“Things are becoming clear now. It was a well-planned conspiracy involving many gangs. Sekhon masterminded the plot in jail, while Pinda and Lahoria, who are on the run, executed his escape and others,” said Nabha senior superintendent of police Gurmeet Singh Chauhan. He said with the arrest of Pinda, police of other states, especially Uttar Pradesh, has been alerted to track Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorist Harminder Singh Mintoo and others.

The UP Police also recovered arms and ammunition reportedly used by the accused during the jailbreak incident from the Toyota Fortuner, which was used in the crime. A Punjab Police team has been sent to UP to quiz the accused.

Sources said after crossing Nabha, the escapees changed the vehicles and fled in a Swift and Verna cars. They were to meet at the UP border to plan their escape to Nepal.

Escaped gangsters Gurpreet Sekhon, Vicky Gonder and Prem Lahoria had allegedly killed another gangster, Sukha Kahalwa, in Jalandhar. Later, Gonder was arrested from Tarn Taran following an encounter, while Sekhon was arrested from Faridkot. Prem is still at large.

They accused used self-loading rifle, Springfield gun, pistol and other weapons and fired over 200 shots to create panic at the high-security Nabha jail before freeing the accused. The UP police have recovered a self-loading rifle and a gun from Pinda.

  • Vishal Rambani
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Vishal Rambani

    Vishal Rambani is Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, covering Punjab's political, governance and public policy landscape. With more than two decades of journalistic experience, he has extensively reported on politics, power and energy, crime, bureaucracy, environment, urban development and socio-economic issues. His reporting combines ground-level coverage with data-driven and investigative journalism, producing impactful stories on governance, regulatory affairs, corruption, public finance, elections and infrastructure. Over the years, he has broken several exclusive stories involving enforcement agencies, the power sector, real estate, and state administration, earning recognition for incisive reporting, accuracy and in-depth analysis of Punjab's evolving political and administrative landscape.Read More