Gangsters tried diversion tactics to make escape bid

Threatened to blow up LPG cylinder to mislead staff

Cops at the Gurdaspur jail on Saturday. Tribune photo

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, March 25

Twenty-odd gangsters threatened to explode an LPG cylinder in an attempt to divert the attention of the authorities from a group of inmates who were busy creating an opening in the 13-inch thick outer concrete wall of the jail.Police sources say the cylinder was taken in possession by some hardened criminals around midnight. The gangsters then kept threatening the jail staff that they would explode it. A few hundred yards away, a group of 100 prisoners were busy creating a breach in the wall in the western part of the compound. The drama went on for sometime before the officers finally realised that it was a ploy to divert their attention.The sources say that gangsters Jagtar Singh, Amit Gill and Pardeep Uppal were the ones who planned and executed the tactic.“The prisoners used farm implements taken from the jail tool room to create a hole in the wall. They almost succeeded but when our guards spotted unusual movement, we decided to use tear gas following which the prisoners retreated,” said a jail staffer.Naunihal Singh, IG (Border), said he and other officers tried to negotiate with the prisoners who were threatening to explode the cylinder. “They kept making demands such as bringing back some gangsters who were shifted to other jails a few hours ago. They were holding the entire administration to ransom. We finally asked them to either go back to their barracks or face the consequences,” said the IG who spent the night coordinating with senior officers.Rohit Chaudhary, ADGP (Prisons), said: “When it was clear that the inmates had developed a mob mentality, meaning most were blindly following the diktats of a few, we were left with no option but to retaliate.”

Staff crunch, no intel unit hit jail security

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 25

The Gurdaspur prison arson and security breach just four months after the sensational Nabha jailbreak case has raised questions about security of such establishments in the state.Prison officials have blamed the police for the shortcomings and denying them their own intelligence unit. Serious staff crunch and reforms too are another sore point with the former.The Jail Department had moved a proposal about two months ago on its own intelligence unit but it was shot down. “The intelligence wing of the police monitors the phone calls and analyses the confiscated phone sets. Also, they tell us which criminal is a gangster. The department asked for permission for its own unit as relevant information to help pre-empt such incidents either doesn’t reach us or is delayed,” an official said.Sources last week requested ADGP Rohit Chaudhary for the unit and additional security in a letter to the DGP. “We are functioning with half of the sanctioned strength. The paramilitary battalions posted after Nabha Jail break have been withdrawn post elections. Nearly 600 vacancies have not been filled. We need more men. We wanted to set up a security zone in Gurdaspur jail on the lines of other jails but due to inadequate security, it was not possible,” rued a Jail official.A senior official of the Punjab Police, wishing not to be quoted, said the proposal of the separate Intelligence unit for the Prison department was not possible as too many units would have caused chaos, “It has to be centralised,”he said.Chaudhary said he has called for a review meeting for optimum utilisation of staff. He declined to comment on other issues plaguing the department.The then Akali-BJP government had started recruitment of jail staff twice but it was cancelled on both occasions due to allegations of favouritism.

Hands tied

• Jail officials say the Prison Department is functioning with half of the sanctioned strength. Nearly 600 vacancies have not been filled
• The proposal of a separate Intelligence unit for the department is too hanging fire
• The then Akali-BJP government had started the recruitment of jail staff twice, but it was cancelled on both occasions due to allegations of favouritism

Lambi cops pledge to weed out drugs

Cops take a pledge at Lambi police station on Saturday. Tribune photo

Lambi: Five days after the CM sent out a strong warning on the sale of drugs in a meeting with DCs and SSPs, the subordinate staff seems to have swung into action. For instance, all the policemen at cops at Lambi police station pledged that they would root out this evil. SHO Boota Singh said, “This is for the motivation of the personnel so that they perform their duties diligently. We are conducting raids to stop the sale and supply of drugs.” TNS

Midnight jailbreak bid thwarted by 3,000 cops

A hole carved out in the outer wall of the Gurdaspur jail. Tribune photo

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, March 25

After two staffers were attacked and riot and arson was reported from the Gurdaspur jail yesterday morning, nearly a hundred prisoners made a daring midnight attempt to breach the complex’s outer periphery wall, forcing the authorities to deploy about 3,000 policemen to contain the situation. Fresh trouble began around 11 pm and it took the police nearly six hours to bring the situation under control. More than 70 teargas shells were fired in what is being termed as one of the most daring jailbreak attempts in recent times. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)DGP (Law and Order) Hardeep Dhillon, ADGP (Prisons) Rohit Chowdhury and IG (Border) Naunihal Singh camped inside the jail through the night. Irked over alleged high-handedness of Jail Superintendent Dilbagh Singh, the inmates first ransacked a room where gardening tools of the jail staff were kept. They took the implements and rushed towards the compound’s outer wall. Once there, they cut a hole, big enough to let one man escape at a time, in the 13-inch-thick concrete wall, only to be stopped in their tracks by teargas shells fired by the police personnel from outside. The exploding shells made a noise akin to gun shots, which led to panic in nearby colonies with many residents fleeing their homes for safer places. The inmates reportedly used internet “threat” to check the advancing policemen. Whenever the police tried to go inside, the gangsters would tell them that “their activities would be captured on the mobile and uploaded on the internet”. Following these threats, the policemen would beat a hasty retreat. At the same time, an audio clip, prepared by an inmate detailing the reasons why the prisoners were angry, went viral, leaving the officials red-faced at the turn of events. Senior officers had no clue as to how and when these mobile phones were smuggled inside the high-security complex. Hardened criminal Jagtar Singh Jagga was in possession of one such phone before it was snatched away. Jagga along with around 10 other inmates was later shifted to other jails, including five to Bathinda. He and Pardeep Uppal were the two gangsters who prodded others to join the battle against the police.  The situation was so volatile that Chowdhury had to requisition forces from the four border range police districts of Tarn Taran, Batala, Amritsar and Pathankot. 

How drama unfolded in Gurdaspur

• Around 11 pm, siren goes off after 900-odd prisoners raise slogans against jail supdt
• First teargas shell is soon after lobbed near a group of inmates
• Ploy to create fear fails, prisoners step out of barracks en masse into compound
• Mobile phone jammer and CCTV cameras are damaged, mess halls ransacked and garden tool room broken into
• Rumours of officials being taken hostage worsen things
• At 2 am, prisoners manage to reach outer wall and carve out a hole
• Cops lob teargas shells, inmates retreat; situation under control by 5.30 am

New MP takes up issues with officials

MP Gurjeet SIngh Aujla in a meeting with heads of the district and police administration in Amritsar on Saturday. Photo: Sunil Kumar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 25

The newly elected Member of Parliament (MP), Gurjeet Singh Aujla, discussed a wide range of issues concerning the city during a meeting with heads of the Police Department and the civil administration here today.Addressing mediapersons after conclusion of the meeting, Aujla said tourism topped the agenda for the holy city. He said, “Presently it is backbone of business after near vanishing of manufacturing industries, including carpet, fans, pharmaceuticals and others, from the city.”“The police has been categorically told to curb the menace of snatchings and provide congenial atmosphere to tourists,” he added. He said in order to give an impressive look to the city it was decided to shift beggars, whose number had reached an alarming proportion, from roads.He assured that destitute would be provided employment in case they were willing to work. He underlined that they would not be allowed to beg on roads.He said a grant would be released from the MPLAD fund to bring down pollution level in the city. The previous SAD-BJP government had hurriedly inaugurated land for the IIM campus at Jandiala Guru, near here, last year, he added. He said, “However, its administering agency has now requested allotment of four acres for access to the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT road.” A light and sound show would be made operational at Jallianwala Bagh soon, he added.Policy to act against illegal mining in districtThe district and the police administration have jointly chalked out a strategy to act against illegal mining in the district. A plan in this connection was prepared during a meeting between Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kamaldeep Singh Sangha and Amritsar (Rural) police chief J Elanchezhian.They said different teams, comprising SDMs and officials of the Industry Department, had been raiding mining sites during night. They even seized equipment used in mining last night from some places. DC Sangha said any person found involved in illegal mining would be booked under the Mining Act.