Druglord gives 6 Delhi cops the slip, flees from train at Ludhiana

The kingpin of a drug manufacturing unit in Punjab, who was in Delhi Police custody after being arrested with drugs and weapons in Dwarka of south-west Delhi in August, reportedly escaped from Ludhiana railway station during the wee hours of Tuesday.

Ranjit Singh Kandola, who hails from Punjab’s Nawanshahr district, was taken to Garhshankar city in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district from Tihar Jail for a court hearing.
After the hearing, Kandola was taken to Jalandhar late on Monday from where he was being brought back to Delhi on Jammu Mail.

Sources said when the train reached Ludhiana railway station, Kandola hoodwinked the six police officers escorting him and escaped.

However, both Government Railway Police Force and Railway Protection Force officials remained tight-lipped.

Meanwhile, sources added none of the police officers, who were guarding Kandola, lodged any complaint with Punjab Police.

“We have not received any information from Delhi Police about Kandola’s whereabouts. I heard that Kandola has escaped from police custody,” a senior Tihar Jail official said.

Kandola’s arrest had come after Punjab Police unearthed a narcotics drug manufacturing unit at Jalandhar in June and recovered about 50 kgs of ephedrine and methametaphine. But Kandola managed to flee.

Punjab Police had then sought help from Delhi Police in apprehending Kandola.

On August 11, specific information was received that Kandola and an accomplice would come to Dwarka Link Road near National Highway 8 in a red BMW car.

Accordingly, a trap was laid and Kandola along with his accomplice Sukhjinder Singh were apprehended with two pistols of .32 bore, 10 live cartridges, 411 grams of heroin and 2.75 grams of  methametaphine.

Searches at Kandola’s hideout in Gurgaon had resulted in recovery of a small-scale methametaphine manufacturing unit and recovery of other chemicals. A .32 calibre semi-automatic pistol along with five live cartridges was also recovered.

A case under the Arms Act and Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act was registered against Kandola with Special Cell police station at Lodhi Colony.