Khalistani fugitive Amritpal Singh likely to surrender in Punjab, police on high alert: Report

Khalistani fugitive Amritpal Singh likely to surrender in Punjab, police on high alert: Report

Following a crackdown by the Punjab police, the radical leader has been evading capture since March 18.

Rajesh MoudgilUpdated: Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 10:17 PM IST
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A high alert has been sounded in Amritsar, Bathinda, and Ropar districts of Punjab on Wednesday following intelligence inputs that pro-Khalistan radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who has been on the run since March 18, could enter a Sikh shrine there before surrendering to police.

Three of the five Takhts, or temporal seats of Sikhs, are located in Punjab, including the Akal Takht in Amritsar, Takht Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo town of Bathinda, and Takht Keshgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib city of Ropar district and intelligence inputs indicate that Amritpal might enter one of these shrines before surrendering.

Earlier on Tuesday evening, Amritpal was reportedly tracked down near a village in Phagwara town of Kapurthala district but gave police the slip. The police launched search operations in parts of Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur districts after receiving intelligence inputs that the radical preacher might try to sneak into Amritsar to enter the Golden Temple.

Later on Tuesday, police teams chased an Innova car that was reportedly moving suspiciously on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road. However, three persons travelling in the car alighted and ran away, leaving behind the vehicle, reports quoted eye-witnesses and police officials as saying.

The pro-Khalistan leader of Waris Punjab De (WPD), in his first video since the police crackdown on him and WPD, gave a call for “Sarbat Khalsa” (a large gathering of the community) on the day of Baisakhi on April 14 to chalk out ways to fight the challenges confronting Punjab in general and Sikhs in particular.

Amritpal appealed to Sikhs of the country and abroad and the Jathedar (head) of the Akal Takht (the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs) to lead the Sarbat Khalsa to discuss this. He also spoke about the atrocities of the 'forces' against the community and about his associates who had been sent to the Assam jail 'just because they spoke for the Sikh cause'.

The radical preacher said that he was in high spirits with the blessings of the Gurus and that it was because of this that he was able to escape from the clutches of the police.

However, in the video, he did not speak about his possible surrender.

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