The arrests were carried out by the Haryana STF, while the third escapee, a local gangster, is absconding.
File Photo: IANS
Two Pakistani nationals, who had escaped from a juvenile observation home in the border town of RS Pura in the Jammu district, were on Tuesday arrested in Haryana’s Ambala by the Special Task Force (STF) within 24 hours of their escape, officials said.
The arrests were carried out by the Haryana STF, while the third escapee, a local gangster, is absconding.
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They were heading towards Nepal using the Uttar Pradesh route, Police said.
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In collaboration with the Haryana Police, the J&K Police launched a massive manhunt to nab them. Officials said that the Pakistani nationals were tracked to the railway station at Ambala by a police party and were subsequently arrested.
SP STF Vikrant Bhushan said that the two Pakistanis were arrested from the railway station and handed over to the J&K Police.
The two Pakistani nationals and a local inmate escaped from a juvenile home in the border area of RS Pura after attacking police personnel on duty on Monday. They had somehow managed to get a country-made pistol from which they are reported to have fired while escaping. The incident occurred around 5 pm at the Juvenile Observation Home in RS Pura.
The escaped inmates were identified as Ahsan Anwar, son of Mohammad Anwar, a resident of Nankana Sahib, Punjab (Pakistan); Mohammad Sanaullah, son of Mohammad Zaffer, a resident of Basti Jawewala, Tehsil Dinpur, Muzaffarabad (Pakistan); and Karanjit Singh alias Gugga, son of Arjun Singh, a resident of Dablehar in RS Pura.
Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat and Inspector General (Jammu range) Bhim Sen Tuti visited the facility on Tuesday and reviewed the security lapses that enabled the breakout.
Six police personnel have been suspended for alleged dereliction of duty, and officials are probing potential conspiracy angles, including whether the inmates received external assistance.
The inmates injured two police personnel during the escape. The injured cops were identified as Vinay Kumar, a Special Police Officer (SPO) and Head Constable Parveen Kumar, both of whom were on duty at the time of the incident. They were shifted to the medical college hospital here for treatment.
Following the escape, police took swift cognisance of the matter and launched a massive manhunt. Multiple special teams were constituted, and raids were conducted at several locations, leading to the arrest of the two Pakistani nationals from Ambala. Efforts are now focused on tracing and apprehending the third escapee, Karanjit Singh alias Gugga, a gangster, who is still on the run.
Both Pakistani nationals had inadvertently crossed into India and were not known to have militancy links, though authorities emphasised that a detailed investigation was underway. Officials confirmed that the third escapee, gangster Gugga, who had previously been arrested in connection with the murder of rival gang leader Sumit Jandyal, also known as Gataru, remains at large. His escape has heightened concerns as investigators examine how the inmates managed to obtain a country-made pistol inside the observation home.
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