Nabha jailbreak mastermind extradited from Hong Kong

The mastermind behind the 2016 Nabha jailbreak, Ramanjit Singh alias Romi, has been extradited from Hong Kong, six years after he was arrested, the Punjab Police said on Thursday.

While India and China do not have an extradition treaty, the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) signed between Hong Kong and India in 2009 was pressed to secure Romi's extradition. As a special representative region of China since 1997, Hong Kong has the mandate of the Chinese government to sign certain agreements with foreign states.

In November 2016, gangsters dressed as cops broke open the Nabha jail in Patiala district and freed six gangsters - Harminder Singh alias Mintu, Gurpreet Singh Sekhon, Amandeep Singh Dhotian, Kulpreet Singh, Kashmir Singh alias Galvadhi and Harjinder Singh alias Vicky Gonder.


"Romi provided logistics support in the form of financial aid, weapons used in Nabha jailbreak, and fake IDs used to gain access in the jail," Punjab Police said in a statement.

The final order for the surrender of Romi was passed by the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on August 6, 2024, Punjab Police said.

According to investigators, SFJ patron Gurupatwant Singh Pannun, designated as an individual terrorist by the Centre, has been facilitating legal aid to Romi.