Last Nabha jail escapee Kashmir Galwaddi caught after 9 yrs

Key Khalistani operative and the last remaining escapee from the 2016 Punjab's Nabha jailbreak, Kashmir Singh Galwaddi, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday in Bihar’s Motihari district, a senior official said.Galwaddi, described as a hardened criminal, was associated with foreign-based Babbar Khalsa terrorist Harwinder Singh Sandhu, alias Rinda, and carried a cash bounty of Rs 10 lakh.

In November 2016, a group of gangsters, disguised as policemen, opened fire on security personnel at the high-security Nabha jail and freed four gangsters and two Khalistani terrorists.

The six escapees were Gurpreet Singh Sekhon (alleged mastermind), Vicky Gounder (later killed in an encounter), Kulpreet, alias Neeta Deol, Amandeep Dhotiyan, and two Khalistan Liberation Force terrorists —Harminder Singh Mintoo and Kashmira Singh.

Of these six, Sekhon, Deol and Dhotiyan were convicted; Mintoo and Gounder died during legal proceedings, while Galwaddi fled to Pakistan and remained at large until his arrest.

The agency said Galwaddi was closely linked with designated Khalistani terrorists and was a key operative for Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and Rinda’s terror network in Nepal.

“Kashmir was a proclaimed offender in an NIA case for his role in conspiracy, providing shelter, logistical support and terror funds to aides of Khalistani terrorists,” the official said.

These aides had fled to Nepal after executing various terror activities in India, including the RPG attack on the Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters.

The NIA had registered the terror conspiracy case suo motu in August 2022 to investigate the activities of proscribed terrorist organisations, including BKI, Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF).

"Investigations revealed a terror-criminal nexus, showing these groups, in collaboration with organised criminal gangs, were smuggling arms, ammunition, explosives, IEDs and other terrorist hardware across the border to conduct attacks in India," the official added.

In July 2023, the NIA chargesheeted nine individuals, including Rinda and Landa, followed by two supplementary chargesheets against six others. In August 2024, the agency secured the extradition of Landa’s brother, Tarsem Singh, from the UAE and filed a third supplementary chargesheet against him in December.

Helped terrorists flee India

Kashmir Singh was closely linked with designated Khalistani terrorists and helped terrorists involved in Punjab Police Intelligence HQ RPG attack case to flee from India