Harminder Singh held at Nizamuddin station on Monday * He was planning to flee to Germany
The Delhi police on Monday arrested Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harminder Singh alias Mintoo, one of the six terrorists who escaped from the Nabha jail in Punjab on Sunday, at the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station.
His links in Germany, where he was planning to escape after fleeing from the jail is being probed, authorities said. The Delhi police's anti-terror unit arrested Mintoo in the wee hours of Monday. At first, the police were not sure about his real identity as he had shaved off his beard.
"We were looking for a Sikh man with a long, white beard. We zeroed in on a person with a stubble instead. When we intercepted him, he took out a pistol. That's when we where sure it was him," an officer said.
Police say his close aides are based in Germany and he was in touch with them. The Punjab government had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 to anyone providing information about Mintoo that could lead to his arrest. Wearing a grey kurta pyjama, the 49-year-old appeared in court looking calm and walking with a smirk. When the judge asked him if has anything to say, he said: "No comments."
"An extensive coordination between the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana police led to his arrest. Pictures and other information were disseminated by the three states quickly. The police team is probing the case under the anti-terror law as well," Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), Arvind Deep, said.
The six inmates who escaped prison are Harminder Singh, Kashmeer Singh, Gurpreet Singh Shekhon, Harjinder Singh, Kulpreet Singh and Amandeep Singh. They broke jail after 14 armed men entered the prison complex and opened indiscriminate firing.
Parwinder Singh alias Pinda, one of the brains behind the jailbreak and who was among the 14 armed men, was arrested from Shamli on Sunday by the Uttar Pradesh police. During his interrogation, he disclosed that he, along with Shekhon, had dropped Kashmeer and Harminder at Kaithal in Haryana and that the duo might be approaching Delhi.
"Police personnel were deployed at strategic locations. Harminder was spotted at the Nizamuddin station. He also had a patka on his head. His appearance matched 80 per cent with the photograph the team had," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwah. He was moving out of the station and was taking an auto when he was stopped. He was carrying a semi-automatic pistol and six live cartridges.
Harminder and Kashmeer came to Kaithal in a Fortuner, driven by Shekhon. A few kilometres from Kurukshetra, the duo were dropped off and handed over around Rs 20,000 by Shekhon's brother Mani. They were asked to hide in the nearby fields before heading for the next destination.
"Kashmeer bought scissors from a nearby shop and they shaved their moustache and beard. They then took a jeep to Kurukshetra, a bus to Panipat and another bus to the National Capital," added the DCP.
After reaching the capital, the duo decided to part ways and meet in Goa. Mintoo had lived in Goa for almost two decades. At Nizamuddin, he had purchased a ticket to Panvel, from where he was planning to travel to Goa and then exit the country.
Harminder told interrogators that he knew about the jailbreak but it was planned and executed by Shekhon and Harjinder. Even on the day when they were escaping, langar (community meal) was being served at the jail gurudwara premises, and, as planned, all of them stood near the exit gate.
Mintoo was born in Dalli village of Jalandhar and his family shifted to Goa in 1989. He was using a fake Malaysian passport and had travelled to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, besides Thailand, where he set up his base. He was allegedly using Thailand as his base to mobilise funds for the banned Sikh bodies.
He was a member of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) earlier. In 2009, he left BKI and revived KLF. He used to operate from Thailand and Malaysia before being arrested at the IGI airport in 2014. He was arrested while on his way back from Thailand on a fake passport. Mintoo used to visit Pakistan frequently and there are reports that he had the backing of the ISI, which is being investigated. He was involved in 12 terror-related cases, including the attack on the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in 2008, and for placing explosives at the Halwara Air Force station near Ludhiana in 2010.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Harminder Singh")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}