Arvind Kejriwal demands Sukhbir Singh Badal's resignation after Nabha jailbreak

Chandigarh: AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, demanded "immediate" resignation of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal over Nabha jailbreak in which six prisoners, including Khalistan Liberation Front chief Harminder Mintoo, escaped.

Blaming Punjab police for killing a woman, he tweeted, "Punjab Home Minister should immediately resign taking responsibility of jailbreak and killing of innocent girl by Punjab police."

"This shows complete breakdown of law n order in Punjab," Kejriwal said in another tweet attacking Sukhbir who also holds the portfolio of the home minister of the state.

In a sensational jailbreak, chief of Khalistan Liberation Front militant outfit Harminder Mintoo escaped along with five other prisoners after armed men in police uniform stormed the high-security Nabha prison here.

A woman, who was in an SHO's vehicle, died after being hit by a bullet when police opened fire at her vehicle after it jumped a barrier about 20 km away from the prison.

The incident occurred at a 'naka' on Patiala-Gulha Cheeka road, police said.

Meanwhile, AAP national spokesperson Sanjay Singh demanded resignations of jail minister Sohan Singh Thandal and the Deputy Chief Minister.

Sukhbir has no "moral right" to keep the portfolio of the Punjab home minister "even for a day" because under him the state is being "pushed toward anarchy", he said.

"Be it attack on a religious preacher, murder of Mata Chand Kaur of Namdhari Sect, series of sacrilege incidents, the drug haul in Punjab, murder of RSS ideologue or the jailbreak, he has completely failed as the home minister," Singh said.

On Sukhbir alleging that Pakistan "could be behind the jailbreak", the AAP leader said, "If he is right that Pakistan was indeed behind Nabha jailbreak, then Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh should also quit for failing to protect the international borders."

Slamming Sukhbir, AAP Punjab convener Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi alleged, "He does not think twice before blaming Pakistan for the ills of Punjab. Every time he constitutes a Special Investigation Team and puts the issue under the carpet. They have yielded no results so far."

"Such daredevil attack on the jail by armed men in police uniform could not have been possible without active connivance of the state government or higher police officials," Ghuggi alleged and demanded that there is a need to immediately deploy paramilitary forces in Punjab.