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Amritpal Singh hiding in ‘dera’? Papalpreet Singh's video surfaces. Top points
The Punjab Police expanded its hunt for Amritpal Singh to ‘deras’ and other possible hideouts of the 'Waris Punjab De' chief in Hoshiarpur district.
The Punjab Police expanded its hunt for pro-Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh to ‘deras’ and other possible hideouts of the 'Waris Punjab De' chief in Hoshiarpur district, where some suspects had abandoned their car following a chase three days ago.
Media reports claimed that Amritpal Singh's mentor and social media handler Papalpreet Singh may have gone on a different route since the Innova SUV they were travelling in from Phagwara to Hoshiarpur got intercepted on March 28 evening.
Amritpal Singh has been on the run since a police crackdown on Waris Punjab De on March 18. He has, however, appeared in two purported videos and an audio clip released on social media in the past three days.amr
Top updates on Amritpal Singh and Papalpreet Singh:
1. Barricades have been placed at key points and a thorough search of all vehicles in Marnaian and nearby villages including Harkhowal, Bibi Di Pandori and Bassi was underway, news agency PTI reported.
2. Police officials were also searching deras, residential places, small rooms set up near tubewells and even shelter for animals in several villages. Hoshiarpur senior superintendent of police Sartaj Singh Chahal said they were maintaining strict vigil.
3. There were reports that Joga Singh, said to be an aide of Amritpal Singh, has been held, but many senior police officials denied having any information about it.
4. In the latest video, Amritpal Singh claimed that he was not a fugitive and would soon appear before the world. In the audio clip, he debunked speculation he was negotiating his surrender and nudged the Akal Takht for the second time to summon a “sarbat khalsa” congregation to discuss issues related to the Sikh community.
5. Meanwhile, the Punjab Police has gathered a CCTV camera footage of Papalpreet casually walking within the compound of a dera and connecting link roads on March 29 morning.
6. The police teams used drones to track any suspicious movement in the area but it perhaps was quite late, The Tribune reported.
7. Papalpreet and Joga Singh had reportedly moved towards Sahnewal. Here too, they had a stopover at a gurdwara.
8. Since Amritpal could not join Papalpreet while on the run, he reportedly kept releasing his audio and video messages. The video has been shot by Amritpal on selfie mode since he reportedly is alone at some location.
