A high alert has been sounded in Amritsar, Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda and Anandpur Sahib following intelligence inputs suggesting that Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh may enter any of the Sikh shrines located in these towns before offering to surrender to the Punjab Police.
Senior intelligence officials said they have received reliable inputs that Amritpal may enter one of the shrines in disguise before announcing his surrender.
In view of the same, special intelligence teams have been deployed outside Golden Temple in Amritsar. Inputs had been received that Amritpal may try to enter the Darbar Sahib complex dressed as a woman, an official familiar with the development said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Amritpal had been tracked down to a village near Phagwara, but he managed to give police chasing him a slip.
Following this, a search operation was launched in the Doaba region with fresh intel inputs suggesting that the separatist leader was active in the area. Amritpal’s last known location after he fled from Phagwara, where he abandoned his car, was found to be Jalandhar, officials said.
Jalandhar, Amritsar turn epicentres
{{/usCountry}}Jalandhar, Amritsar turn epicentres
{{/usCountry}}A heavy police movement was witnessed in Jalandhar and Amritsar areas and teams were put on high alert as inputs suggested that Amritpal was trying to reach Amritsar to ensure his entry into Golden Temple.
On Tuesday evening, a counter intelligence team witnessed some suspicious movement and started chasing a Punjan-registered Innova car around 7.30 pm. “Three people were in the car but they left their vehicle near Gurdwara Bhai Chanchal Singh on Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road and fled on foot ,” officials said
Two Phagwara-based persons travelling in a separate car had been nabbed by police on Wednesday morning.
Police had on Tuesday also cordoned off Mernaian Kalan village in Hoshiarpur district and started door-to-door search to nab Amritpal.