Punjab News LIVE: Amritpal Still Absconding, His Associates Arrested from Bathinda, Assam's Dibrugarh; Internet Ban Extended

As efforts are underway to nab pro-Khalistan ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh, an alleged advisor and financer of the “fugitive” has been arrested, central agency sources informed.

As per the sources, Daljeet Singh Kalsi alias Sarabjeet Singh Kalsi, who is an alleged advisor and financer of Amritpal Singh, has been arrested by the authorities. (ANI)

Punjab: Bathinda police have arrested two accomplices of Amritpal. So far, 20 people have been arrested in Bathinda. This information was given by SSP Gulneet Khurana of Bathinda police.

Assam Police will handle all associates of Amritpal Singh, arrested in Dibrughar. The arrested accused will be lodged in Dibrugarh jail.

The suspension of all mobile internet services, all SMS services, and all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice call, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab has been extended till Monday 12 pm, as the police mobilise to arrest ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh.

A manhunt was still on to nab radical Sikh preacher and Khalistan sympathizer Amritpal Singh, police has said, as per reports. “He is now a fugitive and we are looking for him and we will soon arrest him,” Jalandhar Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal told reporters near Nakodar in Jalandhar late Saturday night. Chahal said six to seven gunmen of Amritpal Singh have been arrested. READ MORE

When a man bent to touch his feet, Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh scolded him: “Why did you touch my feet? Is there a photograph? Delete that picture…”

This was last Monday (March 13) only five days before Punjab Police was hot on his heels on Saturday. He had specifically instructed the News18 team, present at his home for an interview, not to shoot videos or take pictures of his armed guards. READ MORE

Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh told the media the police should have arrested him before he left the house. “We don’t have any information about his whereabouts. They carried out a search at our residence for 3-4 hours but did not find anything illegal.”

He called the police action “unjustified” and said his son was weaning the youth off drugs. “Why the police were not acting against criminals and those involved in drugs,” he asked.

Always travelling in a Mercedes SUV, and emerging out of its sunroof to greet supporters, Amritpal Singh on Saturday sped away in his car like no tomorrow when the Punjab Police waylaid him near Jalandhar. Details gathered by News18 show that Singh ditched his car as well along with his phone to throw cops off his trail. The police claim he is still on the run. READ MORE

Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh, against whom Punjab Police has launched a massive manhunt, was brought to the state from Dubai by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), intel documents suggest. READ MORE

Massive search operation continued on the second day on Sunday to arrest Sikh radical Amritpal Singh, head of ‘Waris Punjab De’, who has been declared a ‘fugitive’, a senior police official said.

Jalandhar Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal on Saturday night told the media that Amritpal Singh was declared a ‘fugitive’.

The police search operations are now mainly focused in Jalandhar district from where he managed to give the police a slip when it tried to intercept his vehicle to arrest him.

A house-to-house search operation in villages in Nakodar in Jalandhar district was carried out throughout the night, said a senior official. Even the central paramilitary forces have been involved in the search operation.

“We don’t have correct info about him (Amritpal Singh). Police conducted searches for 3-4 hours at our house. They didn’t find anything illegal…Police should have arrested him when he left from the house,” said Tarsem Singh, Amritpal Singh’s father.

A CCTV video of a car has surfaced, in which the police can be seen arresting Amritpal’s driver and associates.

It is not clear whether Amritpal was in this vehicle or not. The video is said to be from the Mehtabpur market.

Security has been tightened at many places in Punjab with security forces conducting vehicle checking.

A heavy deployment of security forces had been made near village Jallupur Khera in Amritsar, the native place of Amritpal Singh, for the operation.

Radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who is on the run following a police crackdown, has been maintaining close links with Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and some terrorist groups based abroad, official sources said on Saturday.

▶The radical preacher is believed to be a close associate of UK-based Khalistani terrorist Avtar Singh Khanda. Khanda is believed to behind Amritpal Singh’s meteoric rise, sources said.

▶Khanda is a trusted lieutenant of leader of the banned Babbar Khalsa International Paramjit Singh Pamma, who often holds theoretical training classes for the Sikh youth to radicalise them.The trio have been aiming to destabilise Punjab by ideological indoctrination of the Sikh youth with extremist views, they said.

▶Amritpal Singh also has links with chief of the International Sikh Youth Federation Lakhbir Singh Rode, who is wanted in India in cases of smuggling of arms and explosives, including RDX, conspiracy to attack government leaders in New Delhi and spreading hatred in Punjab. When Amritpal Singh was in Dubai, he was in close touch with Rode’s brother Jaswant.

▶Amritpal Singh, who was a transport operator in Dubai, came in contact with the ISI there, sources said. The agents of the ISI believed to have told him to motivate the innocent young Sikhs in the name of religion. After coming to Punjab, at the behest of the ISI, Amritpal Singh tried to spread the influence of his group ‘Waris Punjab De’.

▶With the help of overseas Sikh separatists, Pakistan’s external spy agency ISI has been the brain behind pushing Amritpal Singh back to India with an aim to revive terrorism in Punjab, according to officials.

▶Singh, aged around 30, was a truck driver in Dubai before the ISI, with the help of Khalistan supporters based outside India, radicalised him so that he could plunge Punjab again into the dark days of terrorism, they said.

▶Singh, who is at present on the run, is also alleged to have links with Lakhbir Singh Rode, head of the International Sikh Youth Federation who is sought for trial in India and wanted in cases of Arms Smuggling (including RDX explosive), conspiracy to attack government leaders in New Delhi and spreading hatred in Punjab.

▶Tracking his movements, the officials said that Singh, during his stay in Dubai, was in close touch with Rode’s brother Jaswant.

▶Having made his comeback to Punjab at the behest of ISI, Singh took the help of Amrit Sanchar to set up his organisation. Later he launched a campaign called ‘Khalsa Waheer’ and strengthened his organisation by going to the villages, they said.

Punjab Police on Saturday launched a massive state-wide search operation against Sikh radical Amritpal Singh, head of ‘Waris Punjab De’. A total of 78 persons have been arrested so far, while, several others have been detained.

Several, including Amritpal Singh, are on the run and a massive manhunt has been launched to nab them, the police said in a statement on Twitter.

“During the state-wide operation, nine weapons, including one .315 bore rifle, seven rifles of 12 bore, one revolver and 373 live cartridges of different caliber have been recovered so far.

A group of Nihangs held a demonstration in Mohali in protest against the police crackdown against Amritpal Singh. Carrying swords and sticks, the protesters, who were part of the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha, criticised police for its action against the self-styled Sikh preacher.

They also blocked a road near Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan in Mohali. Following the protest, a heavy police force was deployed.

The morcha has been sitting at the Chandigarh-Mohali border and has been seeking release of Sikh prisoners.