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Amritpal Singh’s uncle flown to Assam, lodged in Dibrugarh prison
A Punjab Police team escorted Harjit Singh to Guwahati before he was taken to the Dibrugarh Central Jail by road on Tuesday morning
Absconding separatist leader Amritpal Singh’s uncle was flown to Assam a day after he surrendered to Punjab Police on Monday and was booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), people aware of the matter said.
A Punjab Police team escorted Harjit Singh to Guwahati before he was taken to the Dibrugarh Central Jail by road on Tuesday morning.
Harjit Singh surrendered as authorities continued a manhunt across the state to nab Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, 30. He is considered the brains behind Amritpal Singh’s meteoric rise over the past year after his return from West Asia.
His four other alleged aides, Daljit Singh Kalsi, Bhagwant Singh, Gurmeet Singh, and Pardhanmantri Bajeke, who were arrested on Saturday, were earlier shifted to the Dibrugarh prison in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Assam.
Kalsi is accused of managing the funds for Waris Punjab De. Bajeke looked after the social media of the organisation.
According to NSA’s Section 5, anybody can be transferred to another state to maintain peace and public harmony. Under NSA, a person can be kept in detention for one year without being produced in court.
A 27-member Punjab Police team accompanied the four to Dibrugarh on Sunday.
Assam’s inspector general (law and order) Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan on Monday visited the Dibrugarh Central Jail to review the security arrangements.
The operation against Amritpal Singh began on Saturday. The Punjab Police on Monday said they have a very strong suspicion of Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) links with Amritpal Singh.
On Saturday, police intercepted the separatist’s car when he was on his way to Bathinda to address a gathering. But he changed vehicles and managed to evade arrest.
The Punjab Police said they arrested 114 people until Monday and recovered 10 weapons as part of the crackdown on Amritpal Singh and his followers, who have been accused of spreading communal disharmony, attempting to murder, and attacking policemen.
On February 23, thousands of his supporters besieged a police station and forced the state government to free Amritpal Singh’s key aide, Lovepreet Singh Toofan, who was accused of abduction.
Toofan’s release and the siege drew parallels to the 1980s when Punjab battled separatism.
Singh fashions himself after 1980s separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and has been linked to a larger conspiracy involving the Khalistani secessionist movement. Intelligence agencies say he was radicalising young men in Punjab.
The Union home ministry on Monday asked the border guarding forces to be on the lookout and foil Amritpal Singh’s attempts to leave the country.
Pro-Khalistan elements vandalised the Indian consulate in San Francisco amid protests over the crackdown and prompted India to register a protest with the senior-most US diplomat in New Delhi.
On Sunday, some protesters chanting pro-Khalistan slogans attempted to pull down the tricolour outside the Indian high commission in London. India later summoned the UK envoy over it.
