The Punjab police stepped up its manhunt for pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh on Sunday, with multiple teams raiding several locations, leading to the arrest of 34 more of his associates and the seizure of the vehicle he allegedly used while escaping from the police on Saturday.
The ban on mobile internet services across the State was extended till Monday noon to prevent any incitement to violence by his supporters. Two fresh cases were registered against the radical preacher and his associates following his escape from the police dragnet and the seizure of illegal weapons from his organisation Waris Punjab De (WPD).
Seven supporters of ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh are brought to a court at Beas in Amritsar on March 19, 2023. | Photo Credit: ANI
Escape car found
According to a statement released by the State police in the late evening, 34 more WPD elements were held on Sunday, taking the total number of arrests to 112. The police spokesperson said that during the ongoing search operations, an abandoned vehicle bearing registration number PB10FW 6797 was found in Salina village in Jalandhar Rural’s Mehatpur.
“The said vehicle was used by fugitive Amritpal while police were on chase. A .315-bore rifle along with 57 live cartridges, a sword and a walkie-talkie set has been seized from the abandoned vehicle,” he said, adding that the vehicle’s owner Manpreet Singh was also arrested.
SMS, internet suspended
Stating that strict action would be taken against those involved in spreading fake news, rumours and hate speech, the spokesperson said: “All citizens, media persons and social media platform intermediaries are requested to act in a responsible manner and to fact-check the authenticity of the content being shared by them on various social media, electronic media and print media platforms.”
Text messaging services, excluding those related to banking and mobile recharging, and all dongle internet services provided on mobile networks also remained suspended. The police and paramilitary forces conducted flag marches in sensitive areas to keep a check on anti-social elements. Prohibitory orders were also imposed.
Financer arrested
“Law and order situation is fully under control. Request citizens not to panic or spread fake news or hate speech,” tweeted the Punjab police. Heavy security arrangements were made around the residence of the radical preacher in the Jallupur Khera village of Amritsar.
In another development, Mr. Amritpal Singh’s close friend and alleged financer, Daljeet Singh Halsi, was arrested from Gurugram in Haryana.
WPD protestors monitored
According to a security agency official, a close watch was being kept on WPD supporters who were protesting against the massive police clampdown during which 78 people were arrested on Saturday. Mr. Amritpal Singh’s cavalcade was also intercepted and seven of his associates were arrested on the Shahkot-Malsian Road in Jalandhar on Saturday following a long chase.
The police seized their weapons and two vehicles on the spot. The accused were identified as Ajaypal Singh, Bajinder Singh, Gurvir Singh, Gurlal Singh, Harminder Singh, Savreet Singh and Amandeep Singh. However, the WPD chief allegedly gave the police the slip after his aides deliberately crashed their vehicles into some motorcycles on a narrow road to divert attention.
Paramilitary personnel stand guard at Mehatpur village after the arrest of associates of Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, in Jalandhar on Saturday. | Photo Credit: ANI
Moved to Assam
On Sunday, four of Mr. Amritpal Singh’s aides were taken to eastern Assam’s Dibrugarh by a special Air Force flight. A 27-member team of the Punjab police, led by SP Tejbir Singh Hundal, accompanied them. “They have been brought to Assam for security reasons. The four are likely to be lodged in the Dibrugarh central jail for the time being,” a senior district police officer said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assured adequate security for the arrested quartet, even while playing down the scale of the operation. “It is not unusual for people arrested in one State to be jailed in another as there is a certain level of coordination among all security agencies in the country,” he said.
State-Centre collaboration
It is learnt that the crackdown on Mr. Amritpal Singh and his supporters was meticulously planned by the State police in coordination with Central agencies, based on inputs about his links with several wanted terrorists and Khalistani sympathisers operating from outside the country. As part of the measures to maintain peace taken a few days ago, the authorities ensured that Twitter suspended over 60 major accounts that ran propaganda in the preacher’s support.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who had discussed the law and order situation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on March 2 in this regard and was assured that all possible assistance would be given, had recently alleged that the radical preacher was being funded from overseas and Pakistan. Now declared a fugitive, the accused had been indulging in hate speeches and glorified use of weapons.
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Raising a militia
The security agencies have been probing Mr. Amritpal Singh’s suspected association with elements backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. He had earlier worked as a truck driver in Dubai where he had shifted in 2012, returning to Punjab only in August last year. Subsequently, he was anointed WPD chief in Moga’s Rode village, the ancestral place of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who was killed in 1984. The WPD head “deliberately” copied the mannerisms and attire of Bhindrawale, projecting himself as his successor, it is alleged.
Mr. Amritpal Singh had formed an Anandpur Khalsa Force (AKF) whose members carried weapons. The acronym ‘AKF’ was found written at the entrance gate of his house and on the seized firearms as well, indicating that he allegedly planned to raise a militia. He had also launched a campaign called Khalsa Waheer and would visit Punjab villages to bring young men into his outfit’s fold in the name of religion.
Terror links
The agencies suspect that the United Kingdom-based Avtar Singh Khanda, a close associate of Khalistani terrorist Jagtar Singh Tara, is his main handler.
“Khanda is also close to Paramjit Singh Pamma (associated with the banned outfit, Babbar Khalsa International)... Amritpal also has links with Lakhbir Singh Rode, head of the International Sikh Youth Federation, who is sought for trial in India and wanted in cases of arms/explosives smuggling, conspiracy to attack government leaders in Delhi and spreading hatred in Punjab,” said an official, alleging that Mr. Amrital was in touch with Mr. Rode’s brother Jaswant in Dubai.
