Gangster ‘freed’ in UP, cops probing bribe money trail

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 21

The “arranging” of money for the safe passage of an arrested gangster Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Ghanshyampura has got murkier.

Some liquor contractors and jail inmates in Punjab are under the scanner for “arranging Rs 50 lakh to be paid to the UP policemen for the release of a gangster”.

The case is important for the state police as Gurpreet was instrumental in arranging weapons for gangsters in Punjab.

Transcripts with the intelligence wings suggest that “some jailed inmates” in Punjab contacted their counterparts outside elaborating on the need for such a sum and also how the gangster is now untraceable.

In the latest controversy, the allegation is that the Uttar Pradesh STF picked up an accused in the jailbreak case — Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Ghanshyampura — on September 10 from Shahjahanpur.

While the Uttar Pradesh Government has ordered a probe, the Punjab intelligence sleuths are grilling Sandeep Tiwari, alias Pintoo, of Sultanpur and liquor contractor Randeep Singh, alias Rimple.

Sustained grilling of Pintoo has revealed that he had contested the recent elections in UP and is closely related to an IPS officer in UP due to which he “was instrumental in helping gangsters who managed to reach UP after a crime in Punjab”.

“It was Pintoo who was allegedly trying his best to get a deal struck. However after Gurpreet was arrested and the deal was struck, no one knows what happened,” said a senior Punjab-based IPS officer who has been handling the case.

“The mobile data tracked by us and the recorded transcripts suggest that the money was arranged and some part of the cash was delivered at a hotel in UP. After that, there have been denials by the UP Police that no such gangster was arrested. Even our team in UP that was trailing Gurpreet is now unable to trace him. We fear that he was either killed or given safe passage to Nepal,” said a top cop.

Two days after the arrest of liquor contractor Rimple and Pintoo, two others — Harjinder Singh of Pilibhit and Amandeep Singh of Rudrapur — were also arrested.

Intelligence sleuths said that investigations carried out so far have revealed that gangster Baljinder Singh, alias Dholi, who is lodged in Amritsar Central Jail, had links with Gurpreet. He allegedly contacted Rimple to arrange the money.

The incident has again brought the fact to light that gangsters lodged in jails are using smartphones to run their network.

Yesterday, the Uttar Pradesh Government ordered an inquiry into the matter. ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar will probe the alleged deal made by an IG of the UP Police to let go Gopi from police detention in Lucknow.

Amitabh Yash, IG, Special Task Force, was summoned by Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar. Speaking to the media, Yash denied the charge of any Punjab criminal being detained or released by members of the task force.

DGP Sulkhan Singh said the audio tape of the conversation about the alleged deal would be probed thoroughly and taken as evidence if required.