He is out on bail and claims that he is no longer involved in any anti-social activity. Yet, Gurcharan Singh ‘Rinka’ of Dogar Basti in Faridkot is on a list 35 gangsters released by the Punjab police recently. “I am shocked,” he said as HT talked to him on Monday. Of those on the list, 21 are proclaimed offenders on the run, while the rest are out on bail.
Rinka, who was named at the eighth spot on the list, said, “I am trying hard to lead a normal life and handling my real estate business.” He said he didn’t know what the “police strategy” is against him: “I am not in touch with any gangster now. But police can falsely implicate me in a drug case, or plan a fake encounter.”
Facing at least five criminal cases, including of attempt to murder, he doesn’t want to “hide or run away”.
“I am regularly appearing before the courts and facing trials in Faridkot, SAS Nagar and Hisar (Haryana). I will cooperate with the police whenever they call me. But the government should give me a sincere chance to change. I spend most of the free time in sports or gym now after finishing my work.” He said he regrets having got into “rowdy society” in his school days.
Commenting, additional director general of police (law and order) Rohit Choudhary said, “Those who sincerely want to reform will get a chance to give up all anti-social activities and return to the mainstream, keeping the legal course of action in mind.”
“We invited families of criminals in Faridkot to initiate talks of reforming their children. Hence there is no point of staging a fake encounter or implicating anyone in drug cases. If that happens, a probe will be initiated immediately,” he added.
