Saraj Mintoo’s revelation: Gangster Bobby was running extortion, drug racket from Punjab jail

Notorious gangster Bobby Malhotra had been running an extortion and drug smuggling racket from the Faridkot jail through his close aide Saraj Singh Sandhu, alias Mintoo, revealed the police here on Monday. 

‘A-category’ and hardcore gangster Mintoo was arrested by the organised crime control unit (OCCU) on March 6 and was in the seven-day police custody. He was the prime accused in the killing of Vipan Sharma, an Amritsar-based leader of a right-wing organisation, Hindu Sangharsh Sena. 

During interrogation, he confessed that he was operating Bobby Malhotra’s business after receiving instructions from him over phone. 

Following this revelation, sleuths of the crime control unit took Malhotra on five-day police remand from jail on Monday. 

Saraj also revealed that Malhotra was operating the racket along with Sonu Kangla, who is also in Faridkot jail, and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, who is at present in Hoshiarpur jail.

Malhotra was booked in 30 cases including four murders and 17 attempts to murder in Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Tarn Taran and SBS Nagar districts.  “Wanted in more than 15 cases of heinous crimes, Saraj was running the business and receiving instructions from the gangsters Malhotra and Jaggu. We have brought Malhotra on police remand and Jaggu will be brought from Hoshiarpur jail later to investigate their links with people outside the jail,” crime control unit AIG Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh told the HT. 

Malhotra was very active on the social media and reportedly running two accounts and a page on the Facebook. He was running WhatsApp on four different foreign numbers on his 4G mobile. 

A jail official said, on the request of anonymity, that jails in Punjab are still stuck in the times of 2G reception and mobile jammers installed in the jails are not capable of blocking latest and fastest 4G network signals. Due to this gangsters continue to update their Facebook pages from behind bars. 

Khakh said that many youngsters were brainwashed to become criminals by these notorious gangsters with the use of social media. "The matter will be thoroughly investigated," the AIG said. 

Saraj came in contact with Malhotra in 2013 during a fight at Tarn Taran. Saraj later became his close aide and who was carrying a reward of ₹5 lakh before his arrest last week. 

In some recent crimes, Bobby Malhotra had committed a robbery in the Bhulowal branch of the Punjab National Bank in Hoshiarpur district in September 2016 and was also wanted in the killing of Rahul, who led a rival gang in Amritsar. He was arrested by the Special Task Force in November 2016.