NT NETWORK
PANAJI
The Goa police have initiated a probe in the Khalistani terrorist Harminder Singh Mintoo’s links with Goa.
Mintoo was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi police at a railway station in Delhi on Monday morning, a day after he escaped from a high security prison in Punjab.
According to reports, the Khalistan Liberation Force leader’s plan was to travel to Goa and from there flee the country via Nepal. Following the revelatory media reports, the state police are trying to establish Mintoo’s links with Goa.
“We have initiated an inquiry to know as to who are his sympathisers in Goa, and why he was comfortable coming to Goa. We are looking into every aspect related to Mintoo and his Goa links (if any),” said DIG V Gupta.
Sources said that Mintoo’s family has been living in the outskirts of Ponda city since 1991, while he himself had shifted to Goa a year later.
It is learnt that Mintoo had been in construction business. It has been reported by the media that he left Goa in 2006.
It is also learnt that his family have broken ties with him owing to his activities.
When in Goa, Mintoo was associated with a religious institute located in North Goa. An office-bearer of the religious body on condition of anonymity said that a couple of years back they got to know of his activities through the media and subsequently they had cancelled his membership.
And with the latest development the religious body will also cancel the membership of Mintoo’s family members based in Goa, the officer-bearer said.
However, he said that they cannot stop anyone from entering the religious institute.
