Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh, who was arrested after surrendering before Moga Police in Punjab, was transferred to Assam’s Dibrugarh Central Jail on Sunday amid heavy security. A special aircraft carrying the radical preacher and the police team landed at Mohan Bari airport in Dibrugarh at around 1:30 pm.
Singh was flown in the special flight from Bathinda after his arrest by Punjab Police earlier in the day, officials told news agency PTI.
Dibrugarh Traffic Police was alerted for road clearance from the airport to the prison, a 15-km stretch.
Security in and around the jail premises has been beefed up since March 19, when four members of the 'Waris Punjab De' (WPD) were brought here in the first batch
Amritpal Singh arrested
Amritpal Singh was arrested in Rode village of Punjab's Moga district on Sunday morning after police personnel surrounded him, leaving him with no way to escape, a senior Punjab Police official said here.He has been taken to Dibrugarh in Assam under NSA, Inspector General of Police, Sukhchain Singh Gill told a news conference here.
"National Security Act (NSA) warrants were issued against Amritpal Singh and these have been executed today morning. Further law will take its own course," Gill said.
Amritpal Singh was arrested by the Punjab Police at around 6:45 am from village Rode after absconding for more than one month.
Crackdown on his aides
Amritpal's close aide Papalpreet Singh, who was apprehended on April 10 in Punjab's Hoshiyarpur, and his other eight companions are already in the high-security prison, hundreds of km from their home state of Punjab.
The presence of other gangsters acquainted with the separatist group was cited as the primary reason for relocating Amritpal and his associates to Assam rather than Punjab or Delhi jails.
Furthermore, the authorities regard the Dibrugarh Jail as the most secure prison in the state. It is the oldest jail in the northeast and has housed numerous top commanders of the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (Ulfa-I).
