60 high-risk criminals including Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria lodged in Bathinda jail's 'dead zone'

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Bathinda, March 17

As many as 60 high-risk criminals, including gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, Neeta Deol, Dilpreet Baba, Sukhpreet Budda, Gurpreet Sekhon and Rammi Machanna, are lodged in Bathinda Central Jail.

Frequent Clashes inside prison

• Last month, gangster Rajveer was injured in a clash inside the jail
• Two gangsters had beaten up a jail warden last year
• A CRPF official was allegedly assaulted by gangster Dilpreet Baba and his two accomplices

They all are lodged in a special “dead zone” that has no mobile connectivity in a 2-km radius. All communication from the jail by the staff or prisoners (facility available at a fixed time) is been done via landline.

The jail for women, constructed along the Bathinda Central Jail, has been converted into a high-security zone. Built on a 29 acre area, it has capacity to hold 1,500 inmates in 13 blocks.

Bathinda Jail Superintendent ND Negi said, “At present, 60 high-risk criminals are lodged in this high-security zone, which is guarded round-the-clock by the CRPF. All these criminals are kept in separate barracks. There is no mobile network in the area.”

Speaking on interview of Bishnoi, he said it did not take place in Bathinda or any other jail in Punjab.

The Jail Department is in a tizzy after the interview of Bishnoi was telecast on a private TV channel three days ago. The police have initiated a probe into the matter, but so far failed to find the exact location of the interview.

Last month, gangster Rajveer, who is a cousin of Rinda, was injured in a clash inside the jail.

Last year, two gangsters had beaten up a jail warden.

In another incident, a CRPF official was allegedly assaulted by gangster Dilpreet Baba and his two accomplices with iron rods. Even two gangsters — Saraj Mintu, alias Saraj Sandhu, and Bobby Malhotra, alias Sagar — who delivered the car to the shooters in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case, were attacked inside the jail in July last year. The attack was carried out by jailed gangsters Joginder Singh and Palwinder Singh.

The police had registered an FIR on recovery of two mobile phones from Bathinda jail from unidentified persons. The FIR had been registered on the complaint of Sikander Singh, Assistant Jail Superintendent.