Up to 20-yr RI for 22 in Nabha jailbreak case

Aman Sood

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Patiala, March 23

A court here today sentenced 22 accused, including over 10 “gangsters” and two jail officials, to rigorous imprisonment (RI) ranging from three to 20 years in the 2016 Nabha jailbreak case.

Eighteen convicts were awarded 10-year RI under the IPC and 10-year RI under the Arms Act and their sentences would run concurrently.

Two convict were sentenced to 10-year RI each under the IPC, the Arms Act and the NDPS Act. Their sentences under the IPC and the Arms Act would run concurrently, while the sentence under the NDPS Act would run consecutively (after the completion of the concurrent sentence under the IPC and the Arms Act). In other words, the duo would have to serve 20 years in jail.

The remaining two convicts were awarded RI for five and three years, respectively.

Four “gangsters” and two “terrorists” had escaped from the highly secured Punjab prison after gangsters in police uniform opened indiscriminate fire on jail guards on November 27, 2016. The court of Additional Sessions Judge HS Grewal pronounced the judgment in an open court. Given the sensitivity of the case, the guilty attended the hearing virtually from the jails where they are lodged.

Two jail officials, Assistant Superintendent Bheem Singh and Head Warder Jagmeet Singh of the Nabha Maximum Security Prison, were sentenced to 10-year RI for criminal conspiracy and other offences. The police had claimed that Bheem Singh colluded with the escapees. Jagmeet was the facilitator of phones and the Internet through which the escapees used their phones. Gurpreet Singh Sekhon, Kulpreet Singh Neeta Deol and Amandeep Singh Dhotia, who had escaped from the prison, were later arrested. They were sentenced to 10-year RI.

“The sentences of all these convicts shall run concurrently, except for Bikkar Singh and Sukhchain Singh (alias Sukhi), whose sentences under the IPC and the Arms Act shall run concurrently, but the sentence under the NDPS Act shall run consecutively (after the completion of sentences under the IPC and the Arms Act) as commercial quantities of drugs were seized from them,” the court said. A fine of Rs 1 lakh has also been imposed on them. In case of non-payment of the fine, they would have to undergo RI for four more years.

The court also ordered that the period spent in the jail by the convicts during their remand and trial would be set off against the substantive sentence, so awarded. Convicts Gurpreet Singh and Sunil Kalra, sentenced to RI for five and three years, respectively, have already completed their sentence.

The police had filed six challans against 36 accused in the case while a seventh challan against accused Sukhmeet Pal Singh is pending in the court. Kashmir Singh Galwandi, Harry Chatha, Gopi Ghanshaympuriya and Ramanjit Singh Romi were declared proclaimed offenders and they are yet to face the trial.

One of the escapees (Vicky Gounder) was killed in an encounter in Sri Ganganagar in January 2018.

2016 armed attack

• Kashmir Singh Galwandi, KLF chief Harminder Singh Mintoo and four gangsters, fled the Nabha jail on November 27, 2016, after gangsters dressed as cops fired indiscriminately at jail staff
• Mintoo died of cardiac arrest in jail in April 2018, while Vicky Gounder was killed in a police encounter in January 2018
• Gurpreet Singh Sekhon, Neeta Deol and Amandeep Dhotian are in jail, while Khalistan ideologue Kashmir Singh is the only escapee yet to be arrested