Atul Sharma
Early Times Report
Jammu, Sept 24: Days after busting a dreaded gang and arresting three gangsters, Jammu and Kashmir Police have widened their probe to a more dangerous question: whether the Khauf gang is connected to Dubai-based gangster-turned-terror operative Shahzad Bhatti, who is accused of running a Pakistan-backed network.
The line of inquiry opened after the arrest of Karanjeet Singh alias Gugga, a Khauf gang member and the key accused in the R S Pura Observation Home escape case. Investigators have begun examining whether Gugga and his associates had any links with Bhatti, who is accused of smuggling narcotics into Jammu and Kashmir and supporting anti-national activities.
The Special Operation Group (SOG) of J&K Police cracked the case after a seven-month manhunt, arresting Gugga from a hotel in Delhi. Two o Days after busting a dreaded gang and arresting three gangsters, J&K Police have widened their probe to a more dangerous question.
The Khauf gang is connected to Dubai-based gangster-turned-terror operative Shahzad Bhatti, who is accused of running a Pakistan-backed network.
The line of inquiry opened after the arrest of Karanjeet Singh alias Gugga, a Khauf gang member and the key accused in the R S Pura Observation Home escape case.
The escape dates back to February 16 this year, when three inmates broke out of the R S Pura Observation Home after allegedly attacking police personnel with a country-made pistol. They were local gangster Karanjit Singh of Dablehar, R S Pura, and two Pakistani nationals, Ahsan Anwar (24) and Mohammad Sanaullah (20).
The Pakistani nationals did not stay free for long. A joint team of STF Ambala and J&K Police arrested them on February 17 at Ambala Cantt Railway Station, a day after the escape. Gugga, however, vanished and stayed on the run until his arrest in Delhi.
Meanwhile, security agencies have stepped up surveillance on several notorious gangsters in Jammu after inputs suggested that some local criminals may have links with Bhatti. | 