The induction of Gurpreet Singh Sekhon into the Aam Aadmi Party has put Punjab politics under the spotlight, with the ruling party facing questions over its decision to bring a former gangster into its political fold.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann formally welcomed Sekhon into the AAP at a public rally in Zira, Ferozepur, on Sunday, September 6. Mann presented him with a siropa during the event. Zira MLA Naresh Kataria was also present.
Sekhon, a resident of Mudki in Ferozepur district, has in recent years attempted to establish an identity centred on social work and public life. His formal entry into the ruling party, however, has brought renewed attention to his long criminal record and his conviction in the high-profile 2016 Nabha jailbreak case.
His induction has also prompted speculation about whether he could be given a more prominent political role in the Ferozepur-Zira region ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
From gangster to political aspirant
Sekhon’s transition from a figure associated with Punjab’s criminal networks to an aspiring political figure has taken place gradually.
After his release from jail, he began projecting himself through social and public activities. His family members won Zila Parishad seats in the 2025 elections with support from the Shiromani Akali Dal. He subsequently campaigned for AAP candidates during Nagar Panchayat elections in Mudki and Mamdot.
At the September 6 rally, Sekhon also honoured Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann with a siropa and a kirpan, underlining the public and political character of his new association with the party.
Yet his political entry has inevitably revived questions about the criminal cases registered against him over the years.
Police records show long list of criminal cases
According to police records cited in various media reports, around 47 criminal cases have been registered against Sekhon at different points.
The cases, however, have had different legal outcomes. Some have reportedly ended in acquittal or been otherwise disposed of, while his conviction in the Nabha jailbreak case remains subject to an appeal.
A 2023 court report noted that Sekhon had faced at least 13 FIRs by the time proceedings in the Nabha jailbreak case were being heard. Those cases included allegations involving serious offences such as murder and attempt to murder.
Following his induction into AAP, Sekhon reportedly maintained that the cases against him had been disposed of. However, the legal position surrounding the Nabha jailbreak conviction remains important: although his conviction has been suspended by the Punjab and Haryana High Court pending appeal, the original trial-court conviction has not been erased.
Nabha jailbreak case remains at centre of controversy
The most significant conviction associated with Sekhon is the Nabha high-security jail jailbreak of November 27, 2016.
The incident became one of Punjab’s most sensational prison-break cases. A group of armed men attacked the high-security Nabha prison and helped six inmates escape.
Those who fled included Sekhon, gangster Vicky Gounder, Kulpreet Singh alias Neeta Deol, Amandeep Dhotiyan and Khalistan Liberation Force chief Harminder Singh Mintoo.
Investigators alleged that Sekhon played a key role in planning the jailbreak from inside the prison. He was subsequently arrested on February 12, 2017, from Dhudike in Moga.
The case involved several serious charges, including dacoity, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy, along with provisions of the Arms Act and other laws. UAPA charges were also invoked during the proceedings, although the trial court did not sustain those charges against Sekhon.
In March 2023, a Patiala court convicted 22 accused in the jailbreak case. Sekhon was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The conviction was subsequently challenged before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. In November 2023, the High Court suspended his conviction while his appeal was being heard. Sekhon is currently out on bail in connection with the case.
Acquittal in Sukha Kahlwan murder case
Sekhon has also been linked to the 2015 murder of gangster Sukhvir Singh alias Sukha Kahlwan.
Kahlwan was shot dead while being transported in police custody. Investigators had named Sekhon among the accused and arrested him in March 2016. He was subsequently lodged in Nabha jail, where the jailbreak took place later that year.
However, the murder case ultimately ended differently for Sekhon.
In February 2019, a Kapurthala court acquitted eight accused, including Sekhon, citing insufficient evidence.
Links to Punjab’s gang networks
Over the years, police and media reports have associated Sekhon with several prominent criminal networks operating in Punjab, including groups linked to Jaipal, Shera Khubban and Vicky Gounder.
More recently, in February 2025, Punjab’s Anti-Gangster Task Force announced the arrest of four men it described as associates of the “Gurpreet Sekhon gang” in connection with the murder of Satinder Singh alias Satti in Bhai Rupa, Bathinda.
However, the police statement naming those arrested did not identify Sekhon as an accused in that murder case.
Preventive detention during 2025 local-body campaign
Sekhon also came into the spotlight during Punjab’s 2025 local-body election campaign.
In December 2025, Ferozepur police detained him under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, or BNSS, describing the action as preventive.
The detention was subsequently challenged before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court ordered his immediate release and found the detention to be apparently illegal.
Bhagwant Mann defends Sekhon’s induction
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has defended the decision to induct Sekhon into the AAP.
Mann’s argument has centred on the possibility of personal transformation. He has maintained that people can change their lives and that an individual who chooses to move away from a previous path and work for society should be given an opportunity.
The chief minister also used the occasion to highlight his government’s record against drugs and organised crime. Mann claimed that thousands of drug traffickers and gangsters had been arrested during the AAP government’s tenure.
Congress accuses AAP of giving legitimacy to gangster politics
The opposition, meanwhile, has strongly criticised the induction.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, along with former MLA Kulbir Singh Zira, staged a black-flag protest against Sekhon’s entry into the ruling party.
Congress leaders accused the AAP government of bringing individuals with criminal backgrounds into mainstream politics. They argued that political parties should exercise greater caution before giving political legitimacy to people whose names have figured in serious criminal cases.
The controversy has consequently developed into a wider political battle over the relationship between criminal backgrounds and electoral politics in Punjab.
Why Sekhon’s AAP entry matters ahead of 2027
Sekhon’s induction comes well ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, making his growing political profile particularly significant in the Ferozepur-Zira belt.
Whether Sekhon remains a local-level political figure or eventually receives an electoral responsibility will become clearer as Punjab’s political activity intensifies ahead of the Assembly polls.
For now, his entry into AAP has created an unusual political narrative: a man whose name has long been associated with Punjab’s gangster era is attempting to establish himself in mainstream politics, while a significant conviction from the Nabha jailbreak case remains under appeal.
