Amritpal Singh tried to form terror outfit with ex-Armymen; 'blackmailed' women. Top points
Amritpal Singh along with his men were looking for ex-servicemen who had been retired from the Indian Army for bad behaviour so that they could be used for imparting arms training.
Amritpal Singh, the fugitive radical preacher and pro-Khalistan leader, had been targeting drug addicts and rogue ex-servicemen to help him build a gang that could be easily transformed into a terrorist outfit, news agency PTI reported citing officials on Thursday.
The Punjab Police earlier in the day raised a cross-border link and involvement of Amritpal Singh in "anti-national" activities as it sounded an alert about in all the states.
Top updates on Amritpal Singh and crackdown on ‘Waris Punjab De’:
> Amritpal Singh, after returning from Dubai, started a drug de-addiction centre at his village Jallupur Kehra in Punjab's Amritsar district. In a simultaneous operation, he along with his men started looking for ex-servicemen who had been retired from the Indian Army for bad behaviour so that they could be used for imparting arms training, the officials told PTI.
Also Read | Hijacked bike at gunpoint: How Amritpal Singh escaped to Haryana. 10 points
> Amritpal was planning to form the terror group at the behest of the ISI in Pakistan.
> Immediately after his return last year and taking over the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit after the death of actor-activist Deep Sidhu, Amritpal had a cover of two private security officers, and by early this year, the number had gone up to 16, the PTI report added
> Seven of his personal security officers were youngsters, who had joined his drug de-addiction centre for rehabilitation.
> The youngsters, admitted at the de-addiction centre, were brainwashed and pushed towards gun culture and also incited to choose the path of slain terrorist Dilawar Singh, who blew himself up and killed former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, the officers said.
> Targeting rogue ex-servicemen was beneficial for the pro-Khalistan preacher as they already had arms licences which could help his organisation to evade the law, they added. Two such ex-servicemen, identified as Varinder Singh of the 19 Sikhs and Talwinder Singh of the 3rd Armoured Punjab, were instrumental in providing arms training to the youngsters, who were addicted to drugs.
> Addressing the media, Punjab Inspector General of Police (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill said there is a strong suspicion that Amritpal had a cross-border link too.
> "At some places, there were videos which show that they were doing firing practice near Jallupur Khera in a firing range. Some footage and pictures show that they have made holograms of Anandpur Khalsa Fauj (AKF). There were some videos of loading and unloading weapons," PTI quoted Gill as saying.
> Gill said the police has circulated photos of Amritpal with police forces across the country.
> Meanwhile, India Today reported the fugitive radical preacher’s steamy life has come to the public domain. According to media reports, the ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief used to chat with several girls online and is alleged to have extramarital affairs with a number of married and unmarried women. India Today reported that it reviewed the chats and voice notes.
> Amritpal also reportedly blackmailed several women with their obscene videos. In one of those chats and voice messages, the details of which are in the public domain now, the pro-Khalistani leader can be seen telling the women with whom he frequently chatted that he wants “no serious long-term commitment” but just a casual relationship with them.
(With inputs from agencies)
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