Nabha jail break: Year on, dismissed constable who provided logistics to accused held

Manjinder Singh is said to be a close relative of fugitive gangster Prema Lahoriya, who is wanted in both Sukha Kahlwan murder and Nabha jailbreak.
Patiala: More than a year after infamous Nabha jail break, police arrested dismissed constable Manjinder Singh for providing key logistics to the accused involved in the November 27 escape.
Manjinder, 47, is said to be close relative of fugitive gangster Prema Lahoriya, who is wanted in both Sukha Kahlwan murder and Nabha jailbreak, was arrested from Jandiala Guru in Amritsar district.
Manjinder was recruited as constable in 1988 in Tarn Taran district police, but was dismissed from the services in 2005 for remaining absent from the duty after he was named in a drug smuggling case then.
One of the senior police officials, who is part of team which arrested Manjinder, said the latter provided police uniforms and turbans to accused and helped them in making fake jail warrants to gain entry into the prison.
“Manjinder’s name cropped up during interrogation of Inderjit Singh Sandhu, a key aide of fugitive gangster Vicky Gounder,” a police official said.
He added that the specific police turbans sported by the accused originally belonged to Manjinder, who wore it when he was in service.
Sandhu, who handled Gounder’s finances generated from extortion, was arrested from delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on December 13 when landed from Jordan on a fake passport. Sandhu also handled social media accounts of Gounder.
“Acting on Sandhu’s information, we zeroed in on Manjinder and recovered an identity card and mobile phone from his possession. Manjinder came into Gounder’s contact through Prema Lahoriya,” an official said.
Manjinder assisted the attackers by providing them with vital information about the working style of cops and how they can stay a step ahead of the police after executing the jailbreak.
“He even told them about the appropriate time to enter jail. It was his idea that the gangsters should use internet telephony for communication,” he said.
Superintendent of police Amarjit Singh Ghuman said the accused will be produced in Nabha court on Sunday to get his remand to extract more information from him.
“Manjinder used to look after agricultural land of Lahoriya in Gharinda village and the latter used to visit him at Palasaur village in Taran Taran,” Ghuman said.
A case under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 392 (robbery), 223 (escape from confinement or custody due to negligence by public servant), 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons) and 149 (unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed with a common object) and sections 25, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against the accused at Nabha’s Kotwali police station.
Police have already arrested four of the six escapees, including KLF chief Harminder Singh Mintoo, Kulpreet Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sekhon and Amandeep.. Gangster Vicky Gounder and Kashmira Singh Galwadi are on the run.
Manjinder gave vital info
Manjinder Singh provided police uniforms and turbans to accused and helped them in making fake jail warrants to gain entry into the prison, say police.
Manjinder provided attackers vital information about the working style of cops
He even told them about the appropriate time to enter jail. It was his idea that the gangsters should use internet telephony for communication.