Punjab Jails Department revives plan to move gangsters out of state jails

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 8

The Punjab Jails Department has revived the plan to move top gangsters to jails outside the state. It has also sought more companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) or other central forces for jails’ security.

In April last year, the Jails Department had proposed shifting of 187 gangsters to jails in other parts of the country, especially in South India. However, in September, the government announced the move was not feasible as the gangsters faced dozens of cases and it would have been a problem bringing them to courts for hearing, as video-conferencing might not be available all the time.

Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa told The Tribune that he had discussed the issue of shifting the gangsters to other jails with Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently and got an encouraging response.

He said Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had also taken up the issue with the Centre and might discuss it again at a meeting with Shah.

‘Shah apprised of the matter’

I had discussed the issue of shifting the gangsters to other jails with Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently and got a positive response. CM Capt Amarinder Singh had also taken up the issue with the Centre and might discuss it again at a meeting with Shah. — Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Jails Minister

The Jails Minister has written a letter to the Chief Minister, seeking his help in handling the gangsters by transferring them to other state jails and for deployment of central forces at the jails. He has also sought high-security jails in the state for housing dreaded criminals.

“When the Centre allows transfer of terrorists from Jammu and Kashmir to other state jails, why can’t it allow the same for dreaded Punjab gangsters?” the minister asked in his letter.

The revived move comes in the backdrop of allegations of political links of gangsters lodged in the Punjab jails.

Both Congress and Akali leaders have been accusing each other of patronising the gangsters. They have even released photos of various gangsters with rival politicians.

The Punjab Police have also submitted a report in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on activity of gangsters in the jails. The report said the latter were running their network from jails and many cases of their involvement in crime had been busted.

Last year, the police had identified 187 jailed gangsters out of more than 2,000, for transferring them to other state jails on the basis of alleged crime committed by them and their activities in the jails.

Punjab Police officials have reiterated a number of times that gangsters were colluding with terrorist groups and drug dealers to carry out narco-terror and weapon smuggling in the region, which was a threat to the national security, and not just a law and order problem in Punjab.