Alleging a deep-rooted conspiracy, which had deepened with the arrest of Khalistani terrorist Harminder Singh Mintoo, Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday demanded handing over of the Nabha jail break case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).Since the Punjab Police DGP Suresh Arora had already admitted to conspiracy and connivance in the matter, the case should not be probed by the Punjab police but should be handed over to CBI for an independent investigation, Captain Amarinder said.The Punjab Congress president accused the Badal-led Akalis of resorting to communal polarization when faced with imminent defeat and said the jail break incident also pointed to such an attempt by the state government.Reacting to the arrest of Mintoo less than 24 hours after he dramatically escaped, along with four dreaded gangsters, in a daring jail break on Sunday, Captain Amarinder said the whole episode smacked of a major plot crafted at the highest levels, which needs to be exposed. He warned against allowing the matter to be pushed under the carpet with the arrest of Mintoo, and called for a thorough probe into the matter.It was a clear case of connivance, as admitted by none other than DGP Suresh Arora, he pointed out, adding that since Mintoo was nabbed in Delhi, the case could jointly be probed by the CBI and the IB, with support from the Delhi Police.
The ease of his arrest belied Sukhbir Badal’s claims of a Pakistani role in the escape of the hardcore terrorist, who has about a dozen terror cases against him, said Captain Amarinder. Had the whole escapade between plotted from across the border, Mintoo would have by now escaped out of India, instead of waiting in Delhi to be nabbed, he noted.Captain Amarinder demanded meticulous interrogation of Mintoo by independent agencies to get at the root of the conspiracy, which clearly had the hand of the Badals in it. Captain Amarinder said the Badals had been facing too much heat in the wake of the jail break, which is probably what led to the re-arrest of Mintoo.Captain Amarinder said with the entire police and administrative machinery in Punjab in the grip of the Akalis, such blatant incidents of law and order breakdown were to be expected in the run-up to the Assembly polls in the state.Expressing serious apprehensions of violence and possible terrorist attacks in the poll-bound state, Captain Amarinder reiterated his demand for imposition of President’s Rule to ensure free and fair elections in Punjab.