Nabha Jailbreak Case: Clean Chit to IPS Officer in Alleged Release of Accused

Lucknow: A senior IPS officer has been given clean chit by a high-level inquiry committee, formed following reports of his alleged role in the arrest and subsequent release of an accused in Nabha prison break case.

The Uttar Pradesh government had ordered a high-level inquiry on September 20 following reports in a section of media that Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Ghyanshyampura was detained and subsequently released at the behest of this IPS officer.

"The inquiry, headed by the ADG-rank officer, has found that false and misleading allegations were levelled against the IPS officer through the media," a state home department spokesman said on Friday.

The motive of these allegations seems to hinder the probe by the Special Task Force against the organised gangs of criminals, and action will be taken against those found responsible for it, he added.

In a sensational jailbreak, a group of armed men stormed Nabha jail in Punjab's Patiala district in police uniforms and managed to free six prisoners - Harminder Singh Mintoo and Kashmir Singh, both terrorists and gangsters Dhothian, Vicky Gounder, Gurpreet Sekhon and Neeta Deol - on November 27 last year.

Gurpreet Singh was reportedly hiding at different places in Uttar Pradesh, including at Lucknow and Shahjahanpur.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had arrested three persons, Sandeep Tiwari alias Pintu, Amandeep Singh and Harjinder Singh, on September 15 from the state capital here.

The trio had reportedly struck a deal with the IPS officer in question for Rs 45 lakh to free Gurpreet, official sources said.

As the controversy erupted, the Special Task Force (STF) had issued a clarification stating that the said media reports were "misleading".

"The statements of people and officials concerned were recorded during the course of investigation and a team also visited Punjab to meet and record statements of officials and accused persons," the spokesman said, adding that none of them said that they were either in touch with the IG STF nor was it found they they had talked to the said official.

Ghanshyampura has not yet been arrested and none among those questioned admitted having paid any bribe to the IG STF, the spokesman said.

The ATS had arrested three persons Sandeep Tiwari alias Pintu, Amandeep Singh and Harjinder Singh are said to the aide of Singh on September 15 from the state capital.

The three had reportedly struck an alleged deal for Rs 45 lakh with the IPS officer to free Singh.