Prisoner’s escape: Mastermind held

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, June 23

The Panchkula police have arrested the mastermind behind the prisoner escape incident. The police arrested Mandeep, alias Mani, a resident of Sector 41, Chandigarh. Mani, a key member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, was an engineering student and close friend of gangster Sampat Nehra, who had freed Deepak Kumar from the custody of the Panchkula police on June 17.

A senior Panchkula police official said three attempt-to-murder and robbery cases were registered in Chandigarh against Mandeep, whose father works with the Punjab Government. In January, a Chandigarh court had awarded two-year imprisonment to Mandeep and two others for thrashing youths.

In the prisoner escape case, Mandeep had provided motorcycles, pistols, bullets and spray. Mandeep had chalked out the entire plan to free Deepak from police custody. He used different phones and coordinated with all those part of the plan.

Sources said Mandeep, Sampat Nehra and Deepak Kumar were in touch with each other on June 17 when the incident took place.

Three armed men of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang had fired into the air and used pepper spray on the hospital staff and the police to free gangster Deepak Kumar, who was brought from the Ambala jail to the Panchkula hospital for a medical examination on June 17. Mandeep will be produced in a Panchkula court tomorrow. The police will seek his remand to know the whereabouts of Deepak Kumar.