Action against Amritpal was planned on the day of Ajnala clash: Cops
On February 23, when ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief and self-styled Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh stormed the Ajnala Police Station in Amritsar to successfully press for the demand of release of his aide arrested in a case of kidnapping and attempt to murder, it came out as a huge embarrassment for the Punjab Police.
On February 23, when ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief and self-styled Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh stormed the Ajnala Police Station in Amritsar to successfully press for the demand of release of his aide arrested in a case of kidnapping and attempt to murder, it came out as a huge embarrassment for the Punjab Police.
On Saturday, as the Punjab Police launched a major crackdown against Amritpal, arresting 78 members of an outfit headed by him, the senior police officials said that the action against the Khalistani preacher and his supporters was planned on the same evening after the Ajnala episode as it also convinced the Punjab government that activities of Amritpal and his aide were posing a fresh challenge to the law and order situation in the state.
More worrisome were the inputs from the Central agencies, who were cautioning the Bhagwant Mann-led state government over the mysterious rise of the 30-year-old Khalistani sympathiser, who was not even a baptised Sikh just a few months back and had come from Dubai only in 2022, officials said.
“As Amritpal directly challenged the state government and the state police in the Ajnala episode, the chief minister gave a go-ahead for strong action against him and his organisation the same day. However, as the first leg of the G20 summit was underway in Amritsar from March 14 to 16, as a precautionary measure, it was decided to deal with them (Amritpal and his aides) after the culmination of that event in which many international dignitaries were supposed to participate,” an ADGP rank official privy with the developments said.
The state already had the presence of 50 companies of the Central Armed Police Force, who were here as additional security cover for Holla Mohalla and the G20 meets. It was part of the meticulous planning of the state police officials that they decided to crack down on Amritpal and his aides within eight hours of the end of the first leg of the G20 meet, officials added.
The Union home ministry last week had ordered the deployment of 18 companies in Punjab for “aid of the state government during law and order duties.” Out of the 18 contingents, eight are drawn from the anti-riot Rapid Action Force (RAF), while the rest are regular ones. The overall strength of these companies is around 19,000 personnel.
The second leg of the G20 meeting is scheduled to start on Sunday, and the police and the government were of the firm opinion that the arrest of Amritpal or his aide would not impact the second leg.
Senior Punjab police officials said it was also a part of planning that the police kept the registration of FIR in the Ajnala case under wraps. It was deliberately done to send a signal to Amritpal and his supporters that the police was dithering from taking action against them, the officials added.
“The fact is that the FIR was registered the very next day of the clash and Amritpal was nominated as the main accused in the attempt to murder case of the six cops. However, it was kept a secret, and the stories appeared as if the police were under pressure from the Khalistani and were hesitating to take action against them,” the senior official posted in the Majha region said.
Even on Saturday, Amritpal’s cavalcade passed through the Amritsar district but was deliberately not stopped there as he has a good support base there and could have potentially created a law and order situation.
“The only mistake in the operation was that Amritpal managed to skip from Mehatpur-Malsian road when he was intercepted by the police personnel,” admitted an SP rank official.
