Amid security threat, Gounder aide shifted to Ludhiana jail

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, June 27

Gangster Gian Kharal, a key aide of the Nabha jailbreak fugitive Vicky Gounder, was brought to the Gurdaspur Central Jail on judicial remand but the prison authorities immediately shifted him to the Ludhiana Central Jail citing ‘security reasons’.

Vicky Gounder, Sukh Bhikhariwal and Gian Kharal were allegedly involved in a shootout at Kahunwan bypass on April 20 in which three members of a rival gang were killed. Kharal was arrested by the Gurdaspur police on June 11 and till today, he was in police remand. He was produced before a local court today, which sent him to judicial custody till July 11.

Dilbagh Singh, Jail Superintendent, confirmed the development and added that the jail administration had decided to shift him following a security threat from a rival group already lodged in the jail.

SSP Bhupinderjit Singh Virk said there were inputs that the rival group could have created trouble for Kharal. “Based on these inputs, the prison administration thought it was wise to take him out of the district,” said Virk. The jail has witnessed many volatile situations in the last few months. On March 25, in what officers’ termed as one of the most daring jailbreak attempts in the recent times, about a hundred inmates almost breached the outer periphery wall of the prison, forcing the authorities to deploy 2,000 policemen and use tear gas shells to control the situation.