Militant commander, 4 gangsters freed in jailbreak in northern India

In a daring jailbreak, 10 armed men dressed in police uniforms broke into a prison in the northern Indian state of Punjab on Sunday and freed a militant commander and four other gangsters.

"The armed men stormed Nabha jail in Punjab early this morning, fired over 100 rounds of bullets and freed militant outfit Khalistan Liberation Force's chief Harminder Singh Mintoo and five other dreaded gangsters," a senior police official said.

The Khalistan Liberation Force is an insurgent group that is part of the Khalistan movement to create a Sikh homeland via armed struggle.

The 47-year-old Mintoo, who was arrested by police from Delhi airport in November 2014, is an accused in multiple terror-related cases across India. Others are well-known criminals mostly involved in running criminal gangs, the official said.

A massive manhunt has been launched to track down the five who escaped from the jail, the official said, adding a huge contingent of police force has also been sent to the area.

"Police checkpost have been set up in nearby areas too," he added.

This is the second major jailbreak recently. Last Month, eight "highly dangerous" members of the banned Islamist group Students' Islamic Movement of India escaped from a high-security jail in the central city of Bhopal. Hours later, police killed them in a gun battle. Endit