Probe Team To Investigate Escape Of Accused In Sidhu Moose Wala Murder

Punjab police chief on Tuesday constituted a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the escape of gangster Deepak Tinu from police custody.

"DGP Gaurav Yadav has constituted a four-member SIT to unravel the entire conspiracy of escape of gangster Deepak Tinu from police custody in Mansa and to ensure effective and speedy investigation into this case," said a Punjab police statement.

Under fire from the Opposition over the brazen escape, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had in the state assembly said that a look-out notice has been issued against the gangster and he will be caught soon.

Tinu, one of the accused in singer Sidhu Moose Wala's murder, had escaped from the custody of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) unit of the Mansa police late Saturday night.

The SIT will be headed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Patiala range M S Chhina, with Additional IG Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) Opinderjit Singh, SSP Mansa Gaurav Toora, and DSP, AGTF, Bikramjeet Singh Brar as its members.

Station House Officer (SHO) Police Station City-1 Mansa will offer complete assistance to the SIT, with the SIT reserving the right to co-opt any officer from Bathinda and Patiala Ranges for assistance, it said.

Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said that investigation in the case is on at full pace with several police teams searching for the gangster.

In the wake of the incident earlier, police had dismissed and apprehended Mansa CIA In-charge Pritpal Singh booking him for dereliction of duty.

The DGP said that the SIT will conduct a day-to-day investigation into the case and will arrest anyone who is found involved in the escape.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)