Khalistan Force leader escapes from jail

Harminder Singh Mintoo escapes along with four others as 10 armed men attack Nabha jail in Patiala; Punjab deputy CM points finger at Pakistan; four officials suspended or sacked; $36,000 reward offered for info on escaped persons; second major jailbreak in less than a month; woman having no link with incident killed

NABHA: Ten armed men disguised as policemen stormed a high-security prison in the Indian Punjab on Sunday and freed a top Sikh militant commander and four others, officials said.

The attackers, who traveled in cars, stabbed and injured a guard at the main gate of the Nabha Jail in Patiala district and fired several shots before fleeing with the inmates, the Indian media reported.

Two other guards were injured by firing during the incident, India’s second major jailbreak in less than a month.One of the fugitives was identified as Harminder Singh Mintoo, chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) — a militant group fighting for a Sikh homeland in the Punjab province.

Mintoo was arrested in 2014 and was on trial for “terror attacks and funding”. The four others were part of a local criminal gang and were on trial for murder.Local media reports said the attackers numbered around 20 and that six prisoners had escaped.

A woman was killed late Sunday after police shot at her car when the driver allegedly failed to stop at a checkpoint on a highway, some 25 kilometers from the Patiala district.The woman was an artist traveling with her team to attend a wedding in a neighbouring state and had no connection to the jailbreak, police said.

“We are trying to find out what actually happened,” said one officer, requesting anonymity. Another person was injured.Four officials, including the Punjab prisons chief and jail superintendent, have been suspended or sacked after the jailbreak, authorities said.

A reward of $36,000 has been offered for information on the escaped persons.In October, eight suspects awaiting trial escaped a prison in the Madhya Pradesh state. They were gunned down hoursin a shootout, which many allege was staged by police.

A senior police officer said the swift assault on Sunday took guards by surprise as the attackers moved quickly through the complex, indicating they knew the jail layout. Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal voiced apprehension that Pakistan could be behind the jailbreak, saying the neighbouring country was "desperate to revive terrorism" post “surgical strike”. 

Could be behind jailbreak," Sukhbir, who also spoke to the National Security Adviser Ajit Doval after the incident, tweeted. The deputy chief minister, who also holds the home portfolio, however said the state government would uncover the conspiracy behind the jailbreak incident at all costs. "The state police are investigating conspiracy between terrorists and gangsters to disturb peace in Punjab before elections," Sukhbir tweeted.

  Meanwhile, high alert has been sounded in northern states after the incident.  Central security agencies have told the governments of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi Police to remain on high alert as Harminder Mintoo could be hiding in their territory to escape from the Punjab Police dragnet.

Sources said Mintoo was unlikely to escape to Pakistan, as there had been heightened security along the border in the last few months due to tension between India and Pakistan and continuing cross-border firing along the International Border and Line of Control. Suspicion has arisen that Mintoo might have been hiding in pre-decided locations as per the conspiracy hatched to free him from the high-security Nabha prison.