Nabha jailbreak: How one phone call led to terrorist Harminder Singh Mintoo's arrest

New Delhi: Pro-Khalistan leader Harminder Singh Mintoo, who along with five others escaped from Punjab's Nabha jail yesterday, was on Monday arrested in Delhi. 

Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF) chief Mintoo was arrested in a joint operation by the Punjab Police and the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on the outskirts of Delhi, some 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the high-security prison in Punjab where he had been remanded on terror charges.

As per a report, Mintoo wanted to flee to some location in southern part of the national capital.

What led to the arrest:

A senior officer of the Special Cell told media that Harminder Mintoo made contact with one of his relatives in Subhash Nagar after which he got traced by the Delhi Police. 

As soon as the calls were made, the agencies- IB and police forces of Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi- got their acts together. 

"The intercepted phone call helped in the arrest," the police official said on the condition of anonymity. 

The arrest was made within 24 hours of the sensational jailbreak at the maximum security Nabha Jail in Punjab on Sunday morning, in which two terrorists and four gangsters escaped after the prison was attacked by armed men.

According to police sources, Mintoo had shaved off his beard and gotten a hair cut to avoid being identified. 

But, the joint team guided by NSA Ajit Doval had their plan in place that ended Harminder Singh Mintoo's hide-and-seek game at 3 am today.

2.5 million bounty announced:

A 2.5 million rupee reward was announced by the government for information on Khalistani leader Mintoo's whereabouts. However, it was not clear if the bounty had played any part in his recapture Monday. 

Yesterday, three top prison officers were sacked or suspended following the jailbreak incident.

The Khalistani terrorist will be produced at Patiala House court in Delhi after 2:30 pm and shall be handed over to the Punjab Police on transit remand.