Chandigarh: In a major breakthrough, Punjab police on Monday claimed to have arrested Papalpreet, the main associate of fugitive radical preacher and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh from Amritsar.
Stating that the accused Papalpreet had been booked under national security Act (NSA), inspector general of police (IGP), headquarters, Sukhchain Singh Gill, said that the police teams were working on some vital clues amidst the ongoing special operation.
Wanted in 6 criminal cases
He said that accused Papalpreet was wanted by the Punjab Police in six criminal cases. Further legal action would be taken in accordance with the law, he added.
Meanwhile, according to information, Papalpreet, about 38, who was said to be Amritpal’s most trusted aide and mentor, was last seen with the latter in Marnaian village of Hoshiarpur on March 28, though, both of them had managed to escape the police dragnet again after returning to Punjab from the neighbouring states where they had fled following state police March 18 crackdown against them.
It may be recalled that the Punjab police had launched a massive crackdown on March 18 against Amritpal who also heads ``Waris Punjab De’’ (WPD) outfit and his supporters who had stormed Ajnala police station on February 23 demanding release of one of his aides in a case of assault and kidnapping.
Papalpreet’s arrest comes after a March 29 CCTV footage that went viral on social media in which he was seen walking out of a ``dera’’ (a place of religious congregation) in a village in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab.
Papalpreet Singh
Prior to becoming Amritpal's media adviser, Papalpreet, a self-styled journalist from Amritsar’s Majitha area, Papalpreet ran an independent website with a focus on radical issues and also handled Amritpal’s social media accounts. He had a huge following on his social accounts. According to information, he had on his web channel interviewed several former Sikh militants and their family members. He was also said to have run ``a drive against drugs’’ on the same in 2019 and alleged that the cases against him were falsely registered because of his drive against drug smugglers.
According to media reports, Papalpreet, a resident of Marari village in Amritsar, was also allegedly in contact with Pakistan’s intelligence agency – ISI was also alleged to have been arrested for his alleged links with ISI in 2015.
Meanwhile, Amritpal is still said to be on the run.
