Nabha jailbreak mastermind Ramanjit Singh extradited from Hong Kong, arrested upon landing in Delhi

Ramanjit Singh — the mastermind behind the Nabha jailbreak — was arrested on Thursday following his extradition from Hong Kong. The Punjab resident had been the key conspirator who had made it possible for six hardcore criminals — including two terrorists — to escape in 2016. An INTERPOL Red Notice was issued against Singh in 2017 and extradition proceedings began a year later.

"The Global Operations Centre of Central Bureau of Investigation has coordinated with Punjab Police and INTERPOL NCB- Hong Kong for the return of a Red Notice Subject Ramanjit Singh from Hong Kong to India on August 22," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

Singh — also known as Romi — was extradited from Hong Kong in an operation coordinated by the CBI and the Punjab Police. He was accompanied on the flight by a Punjab Police team and arrested upon arrival in Delhi.

“After tireless efforts by @PunjabPoliceInd, Romy, the key conspirator, is being brought back today to face justice. He was in touch with #ISI and other escaped prisoners, including Harminder Singh Mintu and Kashmir Singh Galwaddi of the Khalistan Liberation Force (#KLF),” read a post on X by Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav.

16 criminals had opened indiscriminate fire outside Punjab's Nabha jail in November 2016 to engineer the escape of six individuals. Harjinder Singh alias Vicky Gounder, Neeta Deol, Gurpreet Sekhon, Aman Dhotian and terrorists Harminder Mintoo and Kashmir Singh Galwaddi had managed to flee the prison but were later re-arrested. Gounder was killed in a police encounter in January 2018 in Rajasthan

According to police, Romi coordinated the attack on the maximum security Nabha jail by providing financial and logistical support to the escapees. He had provided weapons and fake IDs to gain access to the prison and funded the gangsters' preparations to execute the jailbreak.

Romi was arrested in June 2016 in a weapons recovery and fake credit cards case. However he fled to Hong Kong upon getting bail in August 2016. He was held in Hong Kong in February 2018 following accusations of his involvement in a robbery there.

A Punjab Police team visited Hong Kong in June 2018 and secured his provisional arrest. He had been in judicial custody there since then.

(With inputs from agencies)