A day after the arrest of gangster Deepak Tinu's alleged girlfriend from the Mumbai airport, the Punjab Police on Monday said there is no evidence suggesting that he has fled the country.
Deepak Tinu, one of the accused in singer Sidhu Moose Wala's murder, escaped from the custody of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) unit of the Mansa police on October 1 night.
His woman companion's questioning will help in tracing him, police added.
They said the woman, who was living in Mohali's Zirakpur, and Tinu escaped together. She was arrested by a team of the anti-gangster task force (AGTF) from the airport on Sunday while she was trying to flee to Maldives.
Speaking to the media, Punjab Inspector General of Police Sukhchain Singh Gill said she had done a makeup artist course and rejected reports that the woman was a police official.
Mr Gill said Deepak Tinu had met his girlfriend at the residence of dismissed CIA in-charge Pritpal Singh. Later, both escaped in a car.
Asked whether the gangster has fled the country, Mr Gill said there is no evidence suggesting that he has fled the country. "We are quite hopeful that he will soon be arrested," said Mr Gill.
Asked whether dismissed police officer Pritpal Singh was in touch with the gangster's girlfriend, Mr Gill said it is part of investigation, adding that both the woman and Pritpal will be questioned.
Asked how the woman reached Mumbai, Mr Gill said the escape route is yet to be established. Her interrogation will help police in nabbing the gangster, he said.
Pritpal Singh, who was the CIA in-charge of Mansa, had allegedly taken Deepak Tinu in his vehicle to his official residence to facilitate a meeting with the gangster's girlfriend.
The Punjab Police has already dismissed and apprehended Pritpal Singh.
Police had also constituted a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the escape incident of the gangster.
The SIT comprised Patiala Range Inspector General of Police (IGP) M S Chhina as the chairperson while three members were Assistant IG of the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Opinderjit Singh, Mansa SSP Gaurav Toora and DSP Bikramjeet Singh Brar.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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