The Punjab government on March 23, 2023 extended the suspension of mobile internet and SMS services in Tarn Taran and Ferozepur districts till Friday noon while lifting the curbs in Moga, Sangrur, Ajnala sub-division in Amritsar and a few areas in Mohali.
Mobile internet services in the rest of Punjab resumed on March 21.
According to an order issued on Thursday by the State home affairs department and justice, the curbs on mobile internet services have been extended in Tarn Taran and Ferozepur districts "in the interest of public safety, to prevent any incitement to violence and to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order".
"It is directed that all mobile internet services, all SMS services (excluding banking and mobile recharge) and all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice calls, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab shall continue to remain suspended from March 23 (1200 hours) to March 24 (1200 hours) only in the districts Tarn Taran and Ferozepur in continuation of this office order number 1821 dated March 21," it said.
Broadband services were not suspended so that banking facilities, hospital services and other essential services are not disrupted, said the order.
The Punjab authorities last week suspended Internet and SMS services in the state following the police crackdown against elements of 'Waris Punjab De,' headed by radical preacher Amritpal Singh. The elusive preacher, however, gave the police a slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in the Jalandhar district.
With the Khalistan sympathizer continuing to remain untraceable, police have said that efforts were on to nab the fugitive.
Amritpal associates under CCTV surveillance in Dibrugarh Jail
The seven associates of radical preacher Amritpal Singh, including his uncle, who are lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail are kept in separate cells under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance, a senior official said.
The security of the entire jail campus has been intensified and the health of the seven ‘Waris Punjab De’ (WPD) members are being regularly checked, he said.
Also read: Pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh elusive, police arrest 34 more followers
The seven have been provided with beds and mattresses and television sets in their cells, the official said.
Four additional CCTV cameras have been installed within the jail premises while all other faulty cameras were either replaced or repaired, the official said.
A jail official said a team of the elite Black Panther Assam Police commandos have been entrusted with the task of securing the outer perimeter of the jail, while the CRPF, Assam Police personnel and prison guards have been given the responsibility of inner security.
The entire outer boundary of the jail has also been fitted with CCTVs, he said.
Inspector General of Police (law and order) Prasanta Bhuyan reviewed the security arrangements of the jail on Wednesday.
Dibrugarh Deputy Commissioner Biswait Pegu said on Wednesday that the security system for NSA detainees is different compared to other prisoners.
A multi-tier security arrangement was made at the jail since March 19, when initially four members of the outfit were shifted here by the Punjab police.
On Tuesday three others, including the preacher’s uncle Harjit Singh, were detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and brought to Dibrugarh, around 2500 km away from Punjab.
The other members of ‘Waris Punjab De’ lodged in the jail are Daljeet Kalsi, Basant Singh, Gurmeet Singh Bhukanwala, Bhagwant Singh alias ‘Pradhan Mantri’ Bajeka, Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal and Gurinder Pal Singh.
Punjab Police recently launched a massive crackdown in the northern state and arrested several supporters of Amritpal Singh. It began weeks after the preacher and his supporters stormed the Ajnala police station near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested associate.
The episode raised fears over the possibility of the return of Khalistani militancy to the state that borders Pakistan.
WPD was formed by actor-activist Deep Sidhu. Amritpal Singh took over as its chief a month after his death last year.
