Bishnoi interview not recorded inside Bathinda or any other jail in Punjab: DGP

“This is a categorical finding that this interview of Lawrence Bishnoi was not recorded in Bathinda jail or any other jail of Punjab. This person — I don’t want to dignify by calling him a gangster, he is a common criminal — was handed over by Rajasthan Police to the custody of Bathinda jail on March 8. He was produced in the Talwandi Sabo court on March 9 on a one-day police remand and sent back to Bathinda jail on March 10,” Yadav said.

“In the interview, Bishnoi is sporting a long beard and a long hairdo which is quite visible. He is wearing a yellow t-shirt. When he was brought back to Bathinda jail, he was having a short haircut and a different attire. When his belongings were searched at the time of entry to jail, no yellow t-shirt was there. The interview does not mention his recent friction with gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria or the incident in the Goindwal jail which indicates it might have been recorded earlier,” the DGP said, adding “somewhere in the interview, there is mention of a jail outside Punjab”.

Notably, gangsters Mandeep Singh aka Toofan and Manmohan Singh aka Mohan, both of Bhagwanpuria group, were killed allegedly by members of the Bishnoi gang and three others injured in a clash among inmates lodged in the Goindwal Sahib Central Jail in Tarn Taran last month. All were accused in Moosewala murder case.

The DGP said that a sophisticated high-end technical solution has been installed in Bathinda jail since the last two years with the assistance of Centre. “And under that jammers have been installed all over the jail. This inmate is lodged in isolated cell in a high security zone of the jail, which is guarded round the clock by CRPF in the inner periphery and Punjab jails security guards in the outside periphery. There is round the clock CCTV surveillance,” he added.

The Punjab Police chief said that BSF commandant ND Negi is the superintendent of Bathinda Jail as “Government of India is helping us by lending paramilitary officers on deputation” with the Punjab jails department. He added that no mobile phone has ever been recovered from the high security zone of the Bathinda jail.

The DGP said that the Punjab Police “fought a long legal battle” to bring Bishnoi to Punjab jail so that he can face justice. “He fought upto Supreme Court expressing apprehensions in writ petitions that he will be eliminated in an encounter if he is brought to Punjab. He spent entire criminal career for the last seven eight years, running his network from outside Punjab,” the DGP added.

The state police chief further said, “There are certain forces who are trying to disturb peace and harmony of the state. The designs of such forces will not be allowed to succeed. The Punjab police would put them down firmly and strict legal action would be taken. A lot of fake social media handles are peddling fake news confusing people. We are countering this and we will take legal action. I would request friends in the media fraternity that kindly fact-check. You have the right to freedom of expression. We respect and honour that. But, at the same time I would make an appeal to fact check news not to spread rumours so that we don’t become tools in the hands of unscrupulous elements which are trying to disturb peace and harmony in Punjab.”