The Hindu : New Delhi News : Punjab police takes custody of militant

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 07, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Punjab police takes custody of militant

By Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI, JAN. 6. A Crime Branch team of the Punjab police was here today to take custody of the former Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) militant, Prem Pal Singh, arrested by the Special Staff of the South-West Delhi police on December 29, apparently to probe his suspected role in the sensational Chandigarh jailbreak by three BKI terrorists last year.

Prem Pal, who was convicted for a murderous assault on the Punjab Additional Director General (Vigilance) way back in 1985, jumped parole in 1988 and fled to Thailand from where he went to Germany, the United Kingdom and then to the United States. After staying in New York for about 11 years, Prem Pal flew to India in October 2003 on his brother's passport when the Federal Bureau of Investigation mounted pressure on him for his alleged involvement in cases of cheating and fraud.

Prem Pal was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport by the immigration officials for travelling on invalid documents, but was soon released against a fine of Rs. 50,000. After that he went to Punjab and was there only when the BKI militants, charged with having assassinated the Punjab Chief Minister, Beant Singh, made a dramatic escape along with another convict from Burail Jail by digging a 108-feet-long tunnel through the prison complex. Prem Pal, who remained underground all this while, allegedly obtained a forged passport from Chandigarh and went to the United Kingdom in May last.

His presence in Punjab during the sensational jailbreak has raised strong suspicions about his involvement. Accordingly, a Crime Branch team of the Punjab police today took him into custody for interrogation in this regard, besides probing his alleged complicity in getting a passport issued from the Chandigarh passport office on fake documents.

Interestingly, it is learnt that the Delhi police and even the central intelligence agencies were unable to properly interrogate Prem Pal here in the Capital as he kept complaining of poor health. He claimed that he had recently undergone a heart operation. Prem Pal stuck to mostly those facts that were already there in the documents recovered from him. He did not explain where exactly he was in Punjab and in which activities he was involved there.

Also, the police are not yet clear about his links with Khalistani and other militant groups at places outside the country where he stayed for 16 long years. "It would have been very difficult for him to live and work in the United Kingdom and the United States without having good contacts," said a police officer.

Meanwhile, the Punjab police have arrested an agent for allegedly helping Prem Pal in getting a passport issued in his name fraudulently. A head constable has also been arrested for carrying out fake verification to facilitate the clearance of the passport in his name.

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