Why is Amritpal Singh still a free man in Punjab? This is a million-dollar question in Amritsar as men armed with rifles guard him and he openly espouses the secessionist Khalistan cause. Inexplicably, there is no FIR against him more than two weeks after he stormed into the Ajnala Police Station with many supporters.
“I think the current government will think maturely what they will do (against me). I do not fear being arrested or being killed. But what charges are they going to arrest me on?” 30-year-old Singh told News18 in an interview at his Jullupur Khera village near Amritsar, virtually cocking a snook at the year-old government of Bhagwant Mann.
His house resembles a fortress with CCTVs all over and at least five men armed with rifles and pistols guarding him. A visitor is granted access only after a check; and many now come from Punjab for a glimpse of him.
Will there be action against Singh after the G20 meeting in Amritsar from March 15-17? And will the Akal Takht pass strictures against Singh for carrying the Guru Granth Sahib ‘as a shield’ while storming the Ajnala police station in February?
Singh was defensive when asked about the Akal Takht’s inquiry. “If they (Akal Takht) call us, we will go there. We will obey and respect the decision of the Akal Takht, we are not beyond their reach,” he told News18.
At the Ajnala police station near Amritsar, there is a studied silence when asked why police have not acted against Singh so far. “The higher-ups in Chandigarh can say that. What happened was wrong. How can someone storm a police station like that? It is a serious matter,” a policeman here said, not wishing to come on record.
In Amritsar, relishing the famous Kulfa on Queen’s Road, locals rubbish the Khalistan talk. “Let these people first claim the Punjab side of Pakistan…” say a group of elders here.
Singh and his Village
A visit to Singh’s village around 40 km from Amritsar is an eye-opener in itself. He arrived from Dubai just six months ago, became a baptized Sikh and started going around Punjab espousing the Khalistan cause. He is fluent in English, Hindi as well as Punjabi.
Though the Punjab government says it has withdrawn arms licences of his aides, News18 found at least five of Singh’s aides with rifles and pistols on Monday. Some in the security establishment say he’s been propped up by the ISI to destabilise Punjab.
When asked about this, Singh said: “It is their common practice for their own failures…when you say there is involvement of Pakistan, they just say it is not our fault so they say we can’t do anything about it. The drug crisis of Punjab, the water rights, the migration crisis - it is not because of Pakistan but it is all in the hand of the Indian state. If they are not solving those issues and claiming that something happening in Punjab is because of Pakistan, it is very unfortunate…they are being ignorant.”
He ominously warned that when ignored, “the problem becomes larger and you can’t suppress things by force”.
He gives out sermons in his village Gurdwara and runs a de-addiction centre here. Controversially, he claims Punjab has not moved beyond the Khalistan issue. “I think when there is a genocide, nobody moves ahead. When you talk about sovereignty, there is nothing like moving ahead of it. Our people are still suffering - the youth, elderly and children all speak about Khalistan. It is a reality,” Singh said.
So is he Bhindrawale 2.0? To this, Singh said Bhindrawale is his “inspiration” but does not want to be compared to him as he terms Bhindrawale a “higher authority”. “The time period (compared to 1984) is different, the suffering of Sikhs is the same,” he says.
A poster at the village Gurdwara features Bhindrawale with Singh, and the late Deep Sidhu, whose outfit ‘Waaris Punjab De’ was taken over by him.
The Ajnala ‘Mistake’
The violation of ‘maryada’ in the Ajnala case where Singh carried the Guru Granth Sahib to the police station has upset the Sikh clergy and posed trouble in the face of impending action against him by the Akal Takht. Singh claimed that “what happened in Ajnala was eight seconds of violence which media is playing in a loop” and argued that this happens “every day” in other parts of India in UP and Bihar.
“When you say because of Ajnala Punjab is not a peaceful state anymore, this is also stereotyping Punjab. A single event were eight seconds of violence is played on loop… that’s how Rwanda radio system works,” he said.
On the criticism against him, Singh claimed he has been carrying a ‘swaroop’ of Guru Granth Sahib wherever he goes. “It was false propaganda against me and that day it was not even an issue in Ajnala. Police had falsely imprisoned a person and had to release him. Then they started this whole propaganda,” Singh told News18.
Punjab Police DGP Gaurav Yadav has said this was a strategy of “cowardice” as the holy book was “used as a shield”.
“Guru Granth Sahib is our living Guru and Guru can lead us to anywhere. Guru Granth Sahib was kept with all respect (in Ajnala), the Panch Pyaras were there, the holy book was in the Palki Sahib and we made space for it to pass. When they open a new police station, they take Guru Granth Sahib and do path there. We take the holy book everywhere as our inspiration and walk behind it,” Singh claimed.
These explanations are not expected to pass muster with Akal Takht whose decision is expected soon.
Will AAP Govt Act?
Singh has emerged as a major challenge for the Bhagwant Mann government a year after it got a big mandate in Punjab elections. Singh attacked the AAP government saying he is not running a parallel government but people voted for AAP due to a vacuum and had no other option.
“In a few months, people voted for Simranjit Singh Mann from a seat that was CM Bhagwant Mann’s. The CM lost his own seat to a Khalistani MP,” Singh pointed out.
The Khalistan sympathiser claimed the people of Punjab are “not giving any time to anybody because they have been mistreated for years and decades”.
Most people that News18 spoke to in Amritsar and around do not relate to the Khalistan cause and say they want AAP to make Punjab more business-friendly rather than watch from the sidelines on ‘disruptions’ like Amritpal Singh. “The day Ajnala police station was stormed, Punjab government was holding an investors’ meet. What signal does it send?” a businessman in Amritsar’s Civil Lines market asked.
In his village, people are coming with children to meet Singh and get photographed with ‘Babaji’ Amritpal Singh. Will Punjab government act against Singh before it is too late? The coming days will tell.
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