Tag: Amritpal

Police search for Amritpal Singh expanded to deras in Hoshiarpur

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Hoshiarpur: Punjab Police expanded their search for Amritpal Singh on Friday to ‘deras’ and other possible hideouts of the fugitive preacher in Hoshiarpur district, where some suspects had abandoned their car following a chase three days ago.
Police sources said 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.
They said 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.
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.
The radical preacher has been on the run since a police crackdown on his outfit 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.
In the latest video, the Khalistan sympathiser asserted 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.
The hunt to nab Amritpal Singh was launched in Hoshiarpur district Tuesday night following inputs the radical preacher and his aides could be there.

It began after police chased an Innova SUV from Phagwara, which some sources said may have carried Amritpal Singh and his aides. The occupants abandoned the vehicle near Gurdwara Bhai Chanchal Singh in Marnaian and disappeared.
Officials said there were also inputs the suspects could have used a Swift car after abandoning the SUV.
Police had recovered another vehicle from Phagwara which they suspected could have been used by the fugitive and his aide Papalpreet Singh. Police had conducted a door-to-door search but no success has been achieved yet.
Punjab Police have been on a high alert since Amritpal Singh escaped their net in Jalandhar on March 18. The crackdown on Waris Punjab De chief was launched about three weeks after his supporters stormed a police station in Ajnala near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested man.
He and his associates have been booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.
Police had stepped up security in and around Amritsar and Bathinda amid reports that Amritpal Singh
may surrender after entering any of the two Sikh shrines Golden Temple in Amritsar and Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 31, 2023
Will soon appear before world, says Amritpal Singh in new video

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Chandigarh: A day after daring the Punjab police to arrest him, radical preacher Amritpal Singh surfaced in a fresh video on Thursday, asserting he was not a fugitive and would soon appear before the world.
A day earlier, a video had appeared on social media with the pro-Khalistan preacher asking the jathedar (or chief) of the highest temporal body of Sikhs to summon a congregation of the faithful to discuss issues concerning the community.
The purported video surfaced hours after his audio clip came out on social media in which he debunked speculation he was negotiating his surrender.
“Those who feel that I have turned fugitive and I have left my associates, they should not keep this illusion in their mind. I do not fear death,” he said in the video in Punjabi.
“And soon will appear before the world and will also be amongst the ‘Sangat’,” Amritpal Singh said.
Police have stepped up security in and around Amritsar and Bathinda amid reports that Amritpal Singh may surrender after entering any of the two Sikh shrines – Golden Temple in Amritsar and Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.
The pro-Khalistan preacher said he was not like those who would flee the country. “One has to face a lot during the days of rebellion These days of rebellion are difficult to pass,” he said.
“I want to tell the government that I did not fear them before and I don’t fear them now. Whatever they have to do they may do… I cannot even think of becoming a fugitive,” Amritpal Singh said, adding that he was not afraid of getting arrested.

He appealed to the people not to get swayed by propaganda.
It was his second video since being on the run amid a police crackdown on his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’.
Amritpal Singh, in the clip, again asked the jathedar of the Akal Takht to summon a congregation.
Take out a ‘Khalsa Vaheer’ (religious procession) from the Akal Takht in Amritsar to Damdama Sahib in Bathinda and hold a ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ there on Baisakhi, he said.
It is time for the jathedar to prove allegations of his affiliation to a particular family wrong and he must stand up for the community, he added.
In the audio clip, Amritpal Singh piled pressure on the Sikh body, saying, “If we are going to play politics even today, doing the same things we used to do earlier, then what’s the point of being a jathedar in the future.”
“We should understand that today is the time for the entire community to come together,” he said in Punjabi, calling for “unity” among Sikh bodies.
In the first video clip too, Amritpal Singh had tried to argue that the issue was not just his arrest, but about larger concerns of the Sikh community.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has informed the Akal Takht that almost all the people taken into preventive custody – 348 out of 360 – during the crackdown against Amritpal Singh and his Waris Punjab De’ outfit have now been released.
Jathedar Harpreet Singh had earlier issued an “ultimatum” to the state government to release the Sikh youths picked up during the crackdown that began on March 18.
There was no immediate comment by police on the authenticity of the nearly two-minute audio clip and about six-minute video.
On Thursday, a drone was deployed over the village in Hoshiarpur where some suspects abandoned their car two days back after a police chase. There was speculation that Amritpal Singh could have been in that vehicle.
Security also remained stepped up around Amritsar’s Golden Temple, but officials claimed this was not linked to the hunt for Amritpal Singh. They took out another flag march in the area.
The preacher remains untraceable since March 18, when he gave the slip to a police dragnet in Jalandhar, switching cars and changing appearances.
The trigger for the crackdown was the storming of the Ajnala police station last month by him and his supporters, some of them brandishing firearms to secure the release of an arrested man. Six police personnel were injured.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 31, 2023
Case against suspected bodyguard of fugitive Amritpal Singh in J&K

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Jammu: J&K Police said on Thursday that it has booked a suspected bodyguard of fugitive ‘Waris Punjab De’ leader, Amritpal Singh under the Arms Act in Kishtwar district.
Varinder Singh was booked under the Arms Act in connection with a gun licence issued to him in 2014 by the District Magistrate of Kishtwar, police said.
The Kishtwar district administration has cancelled Varinder Singh’s licence, and decided to probe as to how the former army jawan, who was sacked in 2015, obtained the licence and then kept renewing it from different districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Police said Varinder Singh, also known as Fauji, was part of a private security set up of Amritpal Singh, and a video clip recently showed Varinder Singh opening fire in the air.
After the clip appeared, the Punjab Police arrested him last week under the National Security Act and lodged him in a jail in Assam.
Kishtwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Khalil Poswal said: “We have lodged an FIR number 52/2023 under section 3/25/30 Arms Act and the provisions of IPC in police station Kishtwar.
“The details of the case have been sent to Punjab Police and we have sought documents from them. We will seek the presence of Varinder Singh, who will be brought here to conduct investigation and to find out how he reached here and how he got licence from here.
“He was a soldier and was terminated in 2015. After issuance, his gun licence was getting renewed. The licence has been validated till 2025 from Ramban, Reasi, Baramulla and Kathua districts.”

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 30, 2023
Amritpal Singh’s Aid Booked Under Arms Act

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Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Police have filed a case under the Arms Act against a close aide of fugitive Amritpal Singh for illegally procuring a gun license.
According to NDTV, Varinder Singh managed to acquire a gun license from Kishtwar district in 2013 and renewed it every year in four different districts across Jammu and Kashmir. Varinder Singh, also known as Fauji, was arrested by Punjab police a few days ago and booked under the National Security Act (NSA) before being sent to Dibrugarh jail in Assam.
The two supporters of Amritpal Singh, Varinder Singh and Talwinder Singh, have been discovered to have obtained gun licenses from Jammu and Kashmir. An FIR has been filed in Kishtwar and investigations are ongoing. Despite the fact that both licenses were cancelled after Punjab Police wrote to the district magistrates of Kishtwar and Ramban, the major gun license scam in Jammu and Kashmir has once again been brought to the forefront, NDTV reported.
As per NDTV’s report, between 2012 and 2018, district magistrates issued over 2.78 lakh illegal gun licenses, making it the biggest arms license scam in India. The case was transferred to the CBI by then Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra. The CBI discovered that illegal gun licenses had been issued by district magistrates in collusion with arms dealers.
Varinder Singh had acquired a gun license through forged documents when he and his army unit, the 19 Sikh Regiment, were deployed in Jammu and Kashmir. Despite being terminated from the army in 2015, his gun license was still being renewed in Jammu and Kashmir. The renewal of his gun license by district magistrates in Kathua, Reasi, Baramulla, Poonch, and Kishtwar highlights how easily they were issued and renewed in the state, NDTV reported.
The arms license racket was first uncovered by ATS Rajasthan in 2017 after they found criminals with licensed weapons issued by bureaucrats in Jammu and Kashmir. The ATS Rajasthan also discovered over 3,000 licenses issued in the name of army personnel based on fake documents.
Despite attempts by the PDP-BJP government in the state to shield the accused under the guise of a Vigilance probe, then Governor NN Vohra handed over the case to the CBI after the imposition of Governor’s rule in 2018. In March 2020, the CBI arrested an IAS officer who had issued thousands of licenses during his tenure as the district magistrate of Kupwara.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 30, 2023
348 people held during Amritpal crackdown freed, Punjab govt tells Akal Takht

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Chandigarh: The Punjab government has informed the Akal Takht that 348 of the 360 people taken into preventive custody during a police crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh have now been freed.
The Akal Takht Jathedar’s personal secretary Jaspal Singh on Thursday said a message was received from the state government that the rest would also be released soon.
Earlier this week, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh had given an ultimatum to the state government to release all Sikh youths held during the police crackdown against Amritpal Singh and his aides.
The Jathedar had also condemned the state government for invoking the National Security Act against a few people during the police crackdown.
A few days prior to the Jathedar’s ultimatum, the Punjab Police had said that out of those detained, nearly 30 were hardcore criminals. The rest would be released after verification, a senior police official had said.
Meanwhile, police have stepped up security in and around Amritsar and Bathinda amid reports that Amritpal Singh may surrender after entering any of the two Sikh shrines the Golden Temple in Amritsar or the Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.
Vehicles are being checked at several places in other districts, including Hoshiarpur, in search of the head of ‘Waris Punjab De’.
Amritpal, who has been on the run since March 18 when the police crackdown was launched, appeared in a video on Wednesday.

In the undated clip, he urged the Akal Takht to summon a “sarbat khalsa” a congregation of Sikhs to discuss issues concerning the community.
The Punjab Police on Tuesday night launched a massive search operation in a Hoshiarpur village and many adjoining areas following inputs that radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his aides could be in the area.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 30, 2023
Amritpal Singh says in new video he is in high spirits, calls for ‘Sarbat Khalsa’

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Chandigarh: Amid a police crackdown on Amritpal Singh and his outfit, the pro-Khalistan preacher appeared in a video on Wednesday, calling for a ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ congregation on Baisakhi to discuss issues related to the Sikh community and saying he is in high spirits.
The fugitive said if the Punjab government wanted only to arrest him, they would have come to his home and he would have given up. He claimed the police action against him was an “attack” on the Sikh community.
“As far as my arrest is concerned, it is in the hands of God,” he said in Punjabi in the undated video.
“Main chardhi kala chaan, koi ve mera vaal vinga nahi kar sakya (I am in high spirits. Nobody could harm me),” he said, adding he did not fear being arrested earlier nor he does now.
There was no official word on the purported video, which appeared as the Punjab Police try to close in on Amritpal Singh. Some reports have also suggested he might surrender as the security in Amritsar and Talwandi Sabo area in Bathinda has been tightened.
Since the crackdown began on March 18, the 30-year-old radical preacher has been on the run, using different vehicles and changing his appearance multiple times. He managed to escape the police dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Jalandhar district.
Several videos and images have appeared on social media that purportedly showed him alone and with his aides in different areas.
The crackdown on his outfit Waris Punjab De started weeks after Amritpal Singh’s supporters stormed a police station in Ajnala, near Amritsar, to secure the release of one his followers. The Punjab government has slapped the stringent National Security Act against him and some of his close aides.

In the latest video, Amritpal Singh urged the Akal Takht Jathedar to call a ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ to discuss the issues related to the Sikh community and asked members of the community to participate in large numbers.
“If we have to save the youth and Punjab then we should be part of the Sarbat Khalsa,” he said in his appeal. “For a very long time, our community has got entangled with holding small morchas on many issues,” he said.
“We know the path which we have tread, we will have to face all this. It was our duty to raise voice against it,” he said.
The radical preacher also slammed police for invoking the National Security Act against his associates and sending some of them to Dibrugarh jail in Assam.
Amritpal Singh, who wore a black turban and a shawl in the video, said he was appearing before the Sikh community for the first time after the police crackdown was launched as he wanted to speak to them about whatever happened that day.
“If the government’s intention had only been to arrest me, it could have come to my house and arrested me, I would have given up,” he said. “But the way adopted by the government to deploy lakhs of cops and laying a cordon, the Almighty brought us out of that,” he said.
Accusing the Punjab government of not allowing his ‘Khalsa Vaheer’ (religious procession) earlier, he said he lost touch with what was happening in the state when the mobile internet services were suspended by the state government.
“I have now seen some news showing what is happening in Punjab,” he said.
Referring to the police crackdown, he claimed that the Punjab government has made Sikh youths accused in the matter and sent to sent to jails. “They did not even spare women and children and also sent even handicapped youth to jails.”
“This was the same thing the Beant Singh government had done with Sikhs,” he alleged.
He also thanked people for supporting him during the crackdown.
“But we need to understand the present situation that it was not only an issue of my arrest. It was a matter of an attack on the Sikh community. I did not fear arrest earlier nor do I now,” he said.
Without naming Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the fugitive slammed him for his comments pertaining to the Akal Takht Jathedar who had given a 24-hour ultimatum to the government for the release of Sikh youths from jails.
Amritpal Singh asked the Akal Takht Jathedar to take a tough stand on the matter.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 29, 2023
Denim jacket, mask, no turban: Amritpal Singh spotted on Delhi streets

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New Delhi: Waris Punjab De Chief Amritpal Singh, who is on the run for more than a week after escaping from Punjab, has been spotted roaming on the streets of Delhi, as shown in a CCTV footage.
According to sources, the CCTV footage is from March 21, three days after the Punjab police launched a massive manhunt to arrest the Khalistani preacher.
In the CCTV footage confirmed by police, the separatist leader could be seen wearing a denim jacket, and jeans with sunglasses on, and covering his face with a mask to hide his identity.
His associate, Papalpreet Singh, could also be seen walking with him carrying a backpack, said sources.
On Tuesday, the Department of Immigration, Nepal government alerted its offices, particularly those at airports to prevent Singh who could flee to a third country using Nepali territory either on his own passport or a fake passport, the Himalayan Times reported.
DG Jhalak Ram Adhikari told The Himalayan Times that Indian Embassy had written to his office seeking his office’s help in stopping Khalistan separatist Amritpal Singh from fleeing to a third country.
The Punjab government has launched a massive manhunt against the separatist leader Amritpal, who has been hiding since March 18. Indian Embassy has provided the photograph of the Punjabi fugitive and all details about him. The embassy also has flagged Nepali authorities that Amritpal Singh could flee to a third country using his own passport or a fake passport.
Adhikari said that all passengers who wanted to go abroad using Nepal’s airport would be screened at the airport so that Amritpal who is under the surveillance of the Department of Immigration can not flee.

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu on Sunday sent a letter to the Department of Immigration requesting them to not let pro-Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh travel to a third country.
“As per the request from Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, we have included him on the ‘watch list’, Director of Nepal’s Department of Immigration Jhalakram Adhikari told ANI over the phone.
At first, the embassy had requested the Nepal government to enlist him on a watch list and shared the details along with photos with the department, the official added.
“They have warned us that he might use a fake passport to enter Nepal and attempt to fly out. He might be hiding somewhere here in Nepal as well. No one is sure about Amritpal whereabouts. But as per the request we have informed all the concerned departments and authorities,” Adhikari added.
Asked about the letters, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu did not respond. On March 25, Punjab Police appealed to people not to believe rumours and fake news of the arrest of radical preacher and pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh, which is being circulated on social media.
Speaking at a press briefing on Saturday, Bathinda SSP Gulneet Khurana said, “We urge people not to believe the fake reports of the arrest of Amritpal Singh that are being widely circulated on social media.”
On March 18, Punjab Police launched an operation against Amritpal Singh and his aides. The crackdown came almost over three weeks after Amritpal’s supporters clashed with uniformed personnel at the Ajnala police station on February 23, on the outskirts of Amritsar, demanding the release of one of his close aides, Lovepreet Toofan
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 28, 2023
Amritpal Singh case: BBC Punjabi Twitter account withheld

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New Delhi: Amid ongoing police crackdown against pro-Khalistani elements in Punjab, the official Twitter account of the BBC Punjabi was blocked by the authorities.
The message of Twitter profile of BBC News Punjabi’ read: @bbcnewspunjabi’s account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand
Though the BBC has not issued any statements yet on the latest development, social media users took to Twitter to express their opinions.
“Now BBC News Punjabi twitter handle blocked in India. The government is afraid of the media that criticizes the government and exposes the government. It seems as if an undeclared emergency is being imposed in India, especially in Punjab,” tweeted Lakhvir Singh.
“BBC News Punjabi Twitter account blocked in India for spreading misinformation on law and order situation in Punjab and anti-India propaganda,” wrote another Twitter user.
In a latest development, a purported selfie of fugitive Khalistani ideologue Amritpal Singh enjoying an energy drink, along with aide Papalpreet Singh, has gone viral on social media.
The photo depicts Amritpal Singh, for whom a manhunt has been launched, wearing a jacket.
However, police have not confirmed the timing of the photo and even its authenticity.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 28, 2023
Indian Embassy in Kathmandu claims Amritpal Singh hiding in Nepal: Report

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Kathmandu: The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has claimed that absconding pro-Khalistan radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh is currently hiding in Nepal and requested the Himalayan nation’s government agencies to arrest him if he tries to flee.
The Mission made the claim in a letter to the Department of Consular Services under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 25.
“The esteemed Ministry is requested to inform the Department of Immigration not to permit Amritpal Singh to travel through Nepal for any third country and arrest him if he attempts to escape from Nepal using an Indian passport or any other fake passport under intimation to this mission,” reads a copy of the letter obtained by The Kathmandu Post.
The letter and Singh’s personal details have been circulated to all the concerned agencies from hotels to airlines, multiple sources told The Kathmandu Post.
Singh is said to be possessing multiple passports with different identities.
The development comes amid a massive crackdown on Amritpal Singh and his associates in Punjab.
Amritpal Singh, against whom the National Security Act has been invoked and a non-bailable warrant issued, has been on the run despite the massive manhunt launched to nab him since March 18.
The self-styled preacher had returned from Dubai last year.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 27, 2023
Akal Takht Jathedar gives 24-hr ultimatum for release of Sikhs held following crackdown on Amritpal Singh

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Amritsar: Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on Monday gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the state government to release all Sikh youths who were held during the police crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his aides.
He also condemned the state government for invoking the National Security Act against a few persons during the police crackdown.
The Jathedar of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, had convened a special gathering of Sikh organizations, including intellectuals, Sikh lawyers, journalists, religious and social leaders here to discuss the current situation in Punjab following the March 18 action against elements of ‘Waris Punjab De’ headed by Amritpal Singh.
Addressing the gathering, the Jathedar gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the Punjab government for releasing all Sikh youths in Punjab, saying otherwise the anger of Sikh community would remain simmering.
He also attacked certain TV channels, accusing them of promoting hate propaganda against Sikhs by describing the youths who have been held as separatists.
The Jathedar asked the state government to revoke the detention of some persons under the NSA and demanded that those who have been sent to Dibrugarh jail in Assam should be brought back to Punjab so that law can take its own course.
He said it would be wrong to say that there was a threat to national security due to the Sikhs who have been detained.
Without naming anyone, Singh said the NSA should also then be invoked against those who speak about ‘Hindu Rashtra.’

The Jathedar said it would extend all help to those “innocent Sikhs” who have been held in this matter.
The Jatehdar claimed around 400 Sikh youths had been “arrested” and 198 had been released.
But the Sikh community wanted release of all arrested Sikhs, he said.
He also asked the police to release the impounded vehicles of the Sikhs.
Punjab Police on Sunday had said it has released 197 persons out of total 353 taken into preventive custody on apprehension of breach of peace and disturbance of law and order.
The police had last week launched a crackdown against elements of ‘Waris Punjab De,’ headed Amritpal.
The elusive preacher himself, however, gave the police a slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Jalandhar district.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 27, 2023