Punjab government not serious about arresting Amritpal Singh: Anil Vij
Haryana home minister Anil Vij claimed that as soon as there was credible information on Amritpal Singh hiding in Shahbad, the police informed their counterparts in Punjab, but it took one-and-a-half day (36 hours) for them to reach the location in Kurukshetra district.
Haryana home minister Anil Vij on Friday said the Punjab government is not serious about arresting Waris Punjab De chief and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh.
He claimed that as soon as there was credible information on Amritpal hiding in Shahbad, the police informed their counterparts in Punjab, but it took one-and-a-half day (36 hours) for them to reach the location in Kurukshetra district.
His comment comes a day after it came to light that Amritpal stayed at a house in the town during the intervening night of March 19 and 20 before leaving for another location, thus boosting the speculations that he had crossed Punjab already.
While interacting with the media in Ambala, Vij said, “I do not think the Punjab government is serious about arresting Amritpal. They were searching on the Jalandhar side, and he was sitting here at the house of a relative. By the time we got the information, he had already fled, and we informed the Punjab Police at the same time, but it took them one-and-a-half day to reach Shahbad. Even in the case of catching a ‘most wanted fugitive’, the lethargy of the Punjab government is clearly visible, also when the Haryana Police is informing them about a definite link on him.”
Responding to Vij’s remarks, AAP’s state chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said that Punjab Police actively worked on the inputs received from their Haryana counterparts and tracked the woman from Patiala who was involved in giving shelter to Amritpal. Kang said that Vij should understand the sensitivity of the matter which was linked to national security. “He should not make statements which may affect the morale of our brave policemen. It is a serious matter and political statements like these should be avoided,” the AAP spokesperson said.