Jammu, Sep 23 A Jammu-based gangster, who had allegedly escaped from an observation home in R S Pura along with two Pakistani nationals in February this year, was arrested in Delhi after a seven-month-long hunt, police said on Wednesday.
His two other associates, both allegedly linked to the Khauf gang, were also arrested during the operation, the police said.
Presenting the main accused Karanjit Singh alias “Gugga”, a resident of Dablehar in R S Pura, before reporters here, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu Joginder Singh said his arrest by the special operations group of police followed sustained efforts to trace him across several states over the past seven months.
He said the gangster had been a juvenile when he was arrested in connection with a murder of another gangster Sumit and subsequently lodged in the observation home. He had attained the age of majority by the time of the February 16 incident when he along with two Pakistani inmates escaped.
Singh and Pakistani nationals Mohammad Suna-ullah, 20, and Ahsan Anwar, 21, allegedly attacked police personnel with a pistol and escaped from the observation home. Two police personnel were injured in the incident.
While the two Pakistani nationals were arrested within around 20 hours of the escape, Singh remained absconding and was eventually traced to Delhi, police said.
The Pakistani nationals were intercepted near Ambala railway station while allegedly heading towards Nepal and were subsequently arrested.
The SSP said a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by the Superintendent of Police (Operations), was constituted to track the escapees and investigate the wider criminal network.
Police teams conducted raids and searches at several locations, including Gorakhpur, Kolkata, Delhi, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, as the accused was frequently changing his location, the SSP said.
“Efforts were being made continuously to arrest him. He was changing locations frequently and moving between different states. He was finally arrested from Delhi,” the officer said.
He said Singh is wanted in over a dozen criminal cases.
The SOG Jammu described him as a member of the Khauf gang and said he was wanted in connection with 13 FIRs, including the Gataroo murder case and cases relating to alleged attempt to murder, assault, rioting, criminal intimidation and possession of illegal weapons.
During the same operation, SOG Jammu also arrested two of his associates identified as Naresh Kumar alias “Major”, a resident of Arnia, and Rahul Kumar alias “Sundi”, a resident of Makhanpur in Bishnah.
Police said Naresh Kumar was allegedly associated with the gang and had been involved in cases relating to violent assault, rioting and illegal possession of weapons. He was also stated to be a close associate of absconder Sunil Kumar alias “Gokul”.
Rahul Kumar, police said, is facing a case relating to the alleged smuggling of narcotics into jail premises and has been booked under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Prisons Act.
The SSP said the investigation into the escape and the criminal network was continuing and that further arrests would be made if the investigation establishes the involvement of other persons.
He said the recovery and alleged smuggling of a pistol and mobile phone inside the juvenile home was a serious matter and that the circumstances under which the weapon reached the facility would now be investigated.
“The person who provided the weapon along with seven other accused were arrested following the primary probe by the SIT, ” Joginder Singh said.
Asked whether Singh was planning to escape to Pakistan, the SSP said it would be premature to draw such a conclusion at this stage.
“He was arrested only yesterday and brought here for questioning. More details will emerge during the investigation,” he said, adding that anyone found involved would be arrested.
The SSP said the presence of active criminal gangs in Jammu remained a challenge, but asserted that the police were capable of dealing with such networks.
“There is no place for criminals in Jammu. Either their place is in jail or they have to flee from here,” he said.
He said criminal activities had increased earlier but had come down to a large extent following the police crackdown on organised criminal networks.
The SSP also highlighted the alleged links between criminal gangs, narcotics and cross-border networks, saying police were closely monitoring such activities.
He said gangs were increasingly attempting to involve minors, allegedly taking advantage of provisions applicable to juveniles in the event of their involvement in criminal activities.
Police, he said, were also working with cyber agencies to monitor and counter such activities and prevent young people from being exploited by criminal networks.
The officer said there were attempts by terror groups to rope criminal elements into their networks, adding that security agencies were working to counter such conspiracies as well.
Following the February escape, he said necessary security measures have also been taken at the juvenile home.
(PTI News)
