On the run for 22 days now, the pro-Khalistan Sikh preacher and Waris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh is still out of Punjab police’s reach. Notwithstanding massive manhunt launched by the Punjab Police — not only in Punjab but also in other states of Haryana, Delhi, Utttrakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, Amritpal and his close aide Papalpreet Singh have managed to escape the police dragnet at several occasions.
No less than 5000 policemen have till date conducted search operations at 150 bus stands and 300 dears in five states, but to no avail.
NRI Detained, Released Later
Meanwhile, the Punjab police on Sunday detained an NRI, identified as Jaswinder Singh Pangli, in connection to a probe into the radical preacher’s escape from Hoshiarpur district — claiming to have seized “crucial evidence” against the fugitive Khalistan sympathizer.
Pangli — a resident of Jagatpur Jatta village near Phagwara — is the first arrest made by the Punjab Police after Amritpal’s escape from Maranaia village in Hoshiarpur. As per reports, the police has also arrested several others in connection with this case and are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the great escape.
However, by the evening, Pangli was released within 24 hours as the police failed to furnish any evidence against him in the Hoshiarpur court on Sunday afternoon.
In the court, NRI’s counsel Tanhir Singh Baryana told that Jaswinder Singh was arrested based on suspicion in the case of Amritpal Singh but the police did not find any evidence in this regard, due to which the court released Jaswinder Singh.
Later talking to the media, NRI Jaswinder Singh Pangli said that he has nothing to do with Amritpal Singh.
Amritpal has been absconding since Punjab Police initiated a massive crackdown against his Waris Punjab De outfit on March 18. In Punjab, Amritpal was last traced to Maranaia village in Hoshiarpur on March 28. Following his escape, the Hoshiarpur Police has been continuously conducting search operations to catch him, especially in deras, gurdwaras, and other religious places.
As the Punjab police is also working in close liaison with the other states, and keeping a close watch on Amritpal, his last location was traced at Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh over a week back. Upon investigation, the police found that the CCTV footage of the Mohanpur Gurdwara in Pilibhit, up to the evening of March 25, were “missing”.
On March 30, Joga Singh, who was a kar-sevak at the gurdwara, was arrested following the discovery of an abandoned vehicle near Phagwara on March 28. The police had already arrested the driver of the vehicle, Gurwant Singh.
Security Beefed Up
Ahead of Baisakhi celebrations amid the circulation of an unverified video of ‘Waris Punjab De’ head Amritpal Singh urging the followers to spread the word of a “big congregation” on Baisakhi to discuss issues before the Sikh community, Punjab police has beefed up the security arrangements in Bathinda, especially around Takht Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo.
The state’s Additional Director General of Police Surinder Pal Singh said that the security arrangement is a positive message that the situation on-ground is normal. “We want more and more people to visit the state on Baisakhi. It will send out a positive message that the situation is normal in Punjab. No restrictions have been imposed,” he said.
Already, the police has cancelled leaves of all the its personnel, and those who were on leave have been called back. Police sources say that the state force is working as a part of the strategy to arrest Amritpal as there is strong possibility that he would try to enter the state around Baisakhi.
The police have also installed strong blockades at strategic locations like Ajnala, Attari, Ramdas, Khemkaran, Patti, Bhikhiwind, Baba Bakala, among others.
Earlier, on April 2, amid speculations that Amritpal Singh was likely to surrender at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Parminder Singh Bhandal said that if the Khalistan leader wants to surrender, they will help him do so in accordance with the law.
Earlier, the fugitive Khalistan leader purportedly appeared in a new video saying that he was not “a fugitive” and will soon “appear in front of the world”. He had also urged the Akal Takht jathedar to convene Sarbat Khalsa — a massive congregation of the entire Sikh community — which has been virtually rejected by him. The jathedar (head priest) of the Sikhs’ highest temporal seat, Akal Takht, has, in fact, gave a call for the three-day annual celebrations at Takht Damdama Sahib, while making it clear that this was not a call for “Sarbat Khalsa”.
