Fugitive radical preacher Amritpal Singh arrested from Moga, Punjab

Procedures are on to shift Amritpal to Assam's Dibrugarh Central Jail where 9 of his associates including his uncle Harjit Singh were already lodged since last month

PGurus Newsdesk

April 23, 2023

Procedures are on to shift Amritpal to Assam's Dibrugarh Central Jail where 9 of his associates including his uncle Harjit Singh were already lodged since last month

Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh will be taken to Assam jail

After a long chase spread over several states between the Punjab Police and the Khalistani radical, Amritpal Singh, he was arrested on Sunday from Moga‘s Rhode village in Punjab.

National Security Act (NSA) has been invoked against radical Amritpal Singh. The Waris Punjab De chief had been on the run after evading arrest on March 18. The police were also looking at the possibility that he was planning to escape to Canada via Nepal.

Following the arrest of fugitive Sikh radical Amritpal Singh, the procedures are to shift the Waris Punjab De chief to Assam’s Dibrugarh Central Jail where nine of his associates including his uncle Harjit Singh were already lodged since last month.

According to police sources, Amritpal will be brought in a special aircraft along with NSA and Punjab Police officials. A special team of Assam Police will receive them at the airport.

Dibrugarh’s Mohanbari airport has been witnessing heavy security deployment since early morning on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the security cover outside Dibrugarh Central Jail was also beefed up. A multi-tier security arrangement was already in place there, but more security personnel were deployed on Sunday.

Law enforcement agencies can keep him in detention for over 12 months.

Taking to Twitter, Punjab Police said: “Amritpal Singh arrested in Moga, Punjab. Further details will be shared by Punjab Police…Urge citizens to maintain peace and harmony. Don’t share any fake news, always verify and share.”

#AmritpalSingh arrested in Moga, Punjab.

Further details will be shared by #PunjabPolice

Urge citizens to maintain peace and harmony, Don’t share any fake news, always verify and share.

— Punjab Police India (@PunjabPoliceInd) April 23, 2023

He shot to prominence in February after an armed mob led by him clashed with police and laid siege to a police station near Amritsar, demanding the release of one of their colleagues who had been taken into custody in an alleged kidnapping case. Six policemen were injured in the bloody clash.

Intelligence officials, familiar with the “dark days” in Punjab from September 1981 to August 1992 in which 1,792 police officers sacrificed their lives while fighting the militants, fear the Khalistan sentiments trying to generate by Amritpal Singh might create another 1984-like situation.

Regarding his arrest, some media reports claimed that the fugitive reached the native village of Bhindranwale on Saturday night and surrendered before the police in the morning.

A video, viral on social media, purportedly showed Amritpal Singh addressing from a Sikh shrine and saying last one month “exposed” the real face of the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government. “I may be an accused in the court but not an accused in the court of Almighty,” he said.

Bhindranwale’s nephew Jasvir Rode told the media Amritpal Singh had informed police last night itself that he will surrender Sunday morning after paying obeisance at the Gurdwara Janam Asthan Sant Khalsa. He surrendered around 7 a.m.

Before his arrest, his close aide Papalpreet Singh was arrested in Amritsar on April 10 under the NSA and that six other cases have also been registered against him.

Papalpreet Singh is a Khalistani activist who called himself a journalist before ending up as a media advisor to the radical preacher. A resident of Amritsar, he was earlier arrested for his alleged links to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence in 2015.

Waris Punjab De is an organization floated by lawyer-actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu in 2021. One of the accused in Red Fort violence, Sidhu died in a road accident near Haryana’s Sonepat in February 2022.

After taking charge of Waris Punjab De, which means the heirs of Punjab, he is trying to position himself as a new fulcrum for the panthic cause by calling on the youth to “fight for the freedom” of the Panth.

Police records say Amritpal Singh has been involved in many disputes, kidnappings, and issuing threats.

[With Inputs from IANS]

PGurus is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with all the latest news and views

For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.