Amritpal Singh hunt updates: On plea seeking 'Waris Punjab De' head's 'release', HC issues notice to Punjab

Punjab police conducted flag marches on Sunday in Gurdaspur and Ludhiana amid the ongoing operation to nab Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh. The state will face an internet ban till March 20.

“We're registering FIRs in Amritsar rural area, we've apprehended 10 people. We are investigating how were these vehicles financed. Some phones have been recovered their technical analysis is being done,” DIG Swapan Sharma, Jalandhar, Punjab on Amritpal's arrest.

"While interception in Mehatpur, the one in front car took a leap during the chase. We have recovered the other two cars. We have recovered seven illegal weapons too. They had some Pakistan-ISIS links," he added.

At least 21 supporters of radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh were taken into custody as they tried to stage a 'dharna' to protest the police crackdown against him, officials said on Sunday. They were apprehended near Boparai Klan town in Ludhiana, PTI reported.

We were directed to nab him (Amritpal Singh), while chasing he ended up on a one-lane link road ahead of us. While outrunning us he crashed into 5-6 motorbike riders, some were with the motive to divert us from the chase: DIG Swapan Sharma

“If Punjab is getting defamed, then it will affect the whole country. The operation that could have been carried out without any force and show-off is now today being done in front of the whole country,” Sunil Jakhar, BJP to news agency ANI.

“What is happening today in Punjab is because of CM Bhagwant Mann & Aam Aadmi Party. A local-level gangster who radicalized the youth of Punjab is getting national attention,” Sunil Jakhar, BJP on Punjab police declaring Amritpal Singh a fugitive.

The vehicle was found in an abandoned state in Salema village in Jalandhar's Shahkot, said Jalandhar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police Swarandeep Singh.

While Amritpal Singh remained at large, the Punjab Police on Sunday recovered a vehicle from Salema village in Jalandhar's Shahkot in which the radical preacher reportedly fled from the Mehatpur-Malsian road. Read more.

Amritpal Singh, the leader of the group Waris Punjab De, is an "ISI agent", officials in central intelligence agencies said on Saturday. Read more.

Amritpal Singh managed to escape dodging the team by changing vehicles and he had the advantage as he was moving ahead of the police, Jalandhar CP Kuldeep Singh Chahal said.

After a day of the chase by a high-level team of the Punjab Police, as Khalistani sympathiser and radical Sikh leader Amritpal Singh still remains elusive, the Punjab Police said there was no lapse in the chase. Read more.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while speaking to news agency ANI about four suspected close aides of pro-Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh being taken to Dibrugarh by Punjab Police said, "This is police-to-police cooperation."

Jalandhar Police have recovered ISUZU car from a village in Shahkot in which Amritapl reportedly fled from Mehatpur-Malsian road. A special search operation is also underway in Bathinda, as there are fears that Amritpal may have relocated to Mansa or Bathinda. Swarandeep Singh, SSP Jalandhar Rural, stated that 315 bore weapons and 56 live catridgea were also recovered from the car.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami urged the government to follow system and not create an ‘atmosphere of fear’.

Security at Amritpal Singh Village in Amritsar on Sunday

Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh's friend Daljeet Singh Kalsi has been arrested from Gurugram.

Police have identified seven arrested men who were along with Amritpal when he was being chased near Jalandhar. They are Ajaypal Singh, Gurvir Singh, Bajinder Singh, Harminder Singh, Gurlal Singh, Savreet Singh and Amandeep Singh.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP), Amritsar-rural, Satinder Singh said the accused were arrested in Shahkot area and they were in the cavalcade of Amritpal Singh. He said with the arrest of the accused, they have also recovered 6 illegal .12 bore weapons and 193 cartridges.

Central intelligence officials on Saturday called Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh an ‘ISI agent’ who was brough to India by the Pakistani spy agency to spread violence over the Khalistan secessionist movement. Read more

Senior superintendent of police (Jalandhar Rural) Swarndeep Singh said the law and order situation in the city and the state is normal. “Police are committed to the safety of the public. We will take strict action against those who take law & order into their hands. Those found spreading rumors will be dealt with strictly,” he said.

Four suspected close aides of Punjab’s pro-Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh have been brought to Assam's Dibrugarh in a special aircraft on Sunday morning.

SP Tejbir Singh Hundal led the team of Panjab Police which brought the four in Assam. They were taken to Jorhat first and later brought to Dibrugarh, officials said.

Amritpal Singh and his aides are named in four criminal cases involving allegations of spreading communal disharmony, attempt to murder and attacking policemen. Among these was the dramatic February 23 siege by thousands of supporters of Waris Punjab De of a police station in Amritsar district, which forced the state government to free Amritpal Singh’s aide Lovepreet Tufan.

Amritpal Singh has since been linked to a larger conspiracy involving the Khalistani secessionist movement, with intelligence agencies saying he is fast radicalising young men in the border state.

One of the FIRs registered against him involves sections that are yet to be determined since the police have kept the allegations under wraps, people aware of the matter said. This case was filed a day after the February 23 siege.

In recent weeks, Amritpal Singh has issued threats targeting Union home minister Amit Shah and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, and has openly made statements supporting the demand for Punjab to secede and form Khalistan.

During the February 23 siege, Amritpal Singh’s supporters brandished swords and guns and broke through barricades to barge into the Ajnala Police Station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, and clashed with police.

Singh returned from Dubai last year and was anointed the head of Waris Punjab De, which was founded by actor and activist Deep Sidhu who died in a road accident in February last year.

Dubbed as ‘Bhindranwale 2.0’, Amritpal Singh follows the teachings and dressing style of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who supported the demand for Khalistan and was killed in 1984 during Operation Bluestar. Amritpal was earlier working in his family-owned transport business in Dubai and returned to India in 2022. He assumed charge as chief of 'Waris Punjab De', a radical organisation founded by the late actor Deep Sidhu ‘to protect the rights of Punjab and raise social issues’.

Supporters armed with swords and arms are always seen escorting the separatist leader, who wears his turban, traditional robes and other Sikh articles imitating Bhindranwale’s style. His speeches are heavily led by an anti-migrant stand with a clear message that ‘Punjab is for Punjabis’. The radical preacher also tries to connect to the youth by talking about the state’s drug problem and other social evils.