Ashish Ranjan
The Punjab Police continued their state-wide manhunt for Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh for a third day in an effort to apprehend him. He is now considered a wanted fugitive. Harpreet and Harijeet, the chauffeur and uncle of Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh, have surrendered to police in Mehatpur, and sources say they were taken to the police station last night.
Punjab Police apprehended 34 more members of the Amritpal Singh-backed Waris Punjab De organisation yesterday, bringing the total number of arrests of Khalistani leader’s associates to 112. Police conducted flag marches and inspections across Punjab on Sunday, and section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which prohibits assemblies, was imposed in Chandigarh, the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. In certain regions of Punjab, prohibitions were already in effect.
The Punjab administration has extended restrictions on mobile internet and SMS until Monday at noon. The self-proclaimed radical cleric has been on the run since the Punjab Police’s Saturday crackdown.
The raid occurred weeks after Singh and his supporters stormed the Ajnala police station near Amritsar, demanding the release of an arrested man.”AKF was inscribed on the recovered bulletproof jackets and rifles, as well as the chief’s (Amritpal Singh’s) residence’s gate. “There was an attempt to form a Jathebandi called ‘Anandpur Khalsa Fauj,'” said the IGP of Punjab on Monday, Sukhdev Singh Gill.
According to him, the four detainees were transported to Dibrugarh, along with Amritpal Singh’s uncle.”Four detainees were transferred from custody to Dibrugarh, Assam. They are Daljeet Kalsi, Basant Singh, Gurmeet Singh Bhukhanwala and Bhagwant Singh. Harjeet Singh, the uncle of Amritpal Singh, is currently en route to Dibrugarh. “He is being transported there,” the IGP of Punjab said.
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The NSA (National Security Act) has been invoked against the five detained individuals (being sent to Dibrugarh).
