Punjab: Sikh separatist leader Amritpal’s supporters clash with cops, lay siege to Ajnala police station

Tension in border town in Amritsar district after Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh and thousands of his supporters descend on police station, protesting arrest of his aide in kidnap and assault case

Thousands of supporters of Sikh separatist leader and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh clashed with Punjab Police personnel, who were clearly outnumbered, and broke through barricades at Ajnala, 25km from Amritsar, on Thursday afternoon to march to the town’s lone police station to protest the arrest of his aide Lovepreet Toofan and gatka master Baldev Singh in a kidnap and assault case.

Supporters of Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh clashing with Punjab Police personnel on Thursday afternoon as they headed for the police station in Ajnala to protest the arrest of his aide in a kidnap and assault case. (Sameer Sehgal/HT)

Tension prevailed as an estimated 2,000-strong group of supporters descended on the town bordering Pakistan hours after blocking the Jalandhar-Amritsar highway near Dhilwan toll plaza in Kapurthala.

Ajnala was turned into a fortress after Amritpal Singh, a self-styled preacher, announced on Wednesday that he and his supporters will be staging a protest outside the police station, where a case had been registered on February 16 against him, Bikramjit Singh, Papalpreet Singh, Kulwant Singh Rauke, Gurpreet Singh and 20 other unidentified persons under Sections 365 (kidnapping), 379-B (snatching), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation), 148 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code, on the complaint of Varinder Singh. Section 295 (hurting religious sentiments) of the IPC was added to the first information report (FIR) later.

The police imposed restrictions on all roads leading to Ajnala to prevent the gathering of Amritpal’s supporters, who were coming from various parts of Punjab. Sikh activists were stopped and detained by police near Beas and Harike on the Amritsar-Delhi and Amritsar-Bathinda highways, respectively. Angered over the police move, the supporters blocked the highway, leading to long traffic jams.

Yet, many supporters carrying kirpans and other traditional weapons managed to reach Ajnala.

The police had barricaded the road leading to the police station but they were outnumbered when Amritpal arrived in a procession from his Jallupur Khera village in Amritsar district with a bus carrying the parkash (installation) of Guru Granth Sahib.

The protesters broke the barricades and clashed with the police, who showed restraint and did not retaliate. They let the protesters reach the police station, where they sat chanting ‘Satnam Waheguru’ with portraits of Toofan.

Though police said the situation is under control, tension was palpable.