2 abandoned phones with SIMs on fake IDs found

Ludhiana: After clashes in the central jail, the authorities recovered nine abandoned cellphones, two of which had SIM cards on fake address proofs.
The numbers dialled from these phones were also registered on fake IDs. Jail officials suspect there might have been a big conspiracy of gangsters to escape from the jail. On June 27, an inmate had died and 12 others, including seven cops, were injured after inmates clashed with the police after the death of another inmate, Sunny Sood, at Rajindra Hospital in Patiala.
Jail authorities had lodged an attempt to murder case against 20 inmates for attacking cops. Jail officials said the accused included gangsters Gagandeep Singh Gagna, Harvinder Singh Hinda, Bhupinder Singh Bhinda, Buta Khan, Ranvir Singh, Babu and Kanhaiya. They added that most of them have serious criminal cases against them. Sources in the jail said of these seven gangsters, two — Harvinder and Bhupinder Singh — were involved in a jailbreak case in Gurdaspur in 2017.
They added that the duo was notorious for mobilizing support from fellow gangsters and could have been the masterminds of the jailbreak attempt in Ludhiana too. Jail officials said of the nine mobiles found abandoned on the prison premises during checks after violence, two numbers were found to have SIM cards on fake IDs.
Sources said it was being suspected that the violence was planned and the numbers registered with fake IDs were used by the gangsters to communicate outside the jail. They added that this practice saved them from getting caught.
Blast was planned
Officials said the gangsters had also taken possession of three to four cylinders from the kitchen and planned to blast a water tank as it would have triggered panic and more policemen would have rushed there after opening the gates. This would have helped many inmates escape the prison.
‘2k would have escaped’
The authorities confirmed that the gangsters might have been in contact with their accomplices outside the jail. “The gangsters do have links outside as they have been in one jail or the other. Harvinder and Bhupinder’s names are mentioned even in Gurdaspur jailbreak case,” said jail superintendent Shamsher Singh Boparai. He said if they hadn’t fired in the air, 2,000 inmates would have escaped and wreaked havoc in Ludhiana.