Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh is still untraceable and the Punjab Police are conducting massive operations to arrest the self-proclaimed Sikh preacher. The security in the state has been beefed up to arrest the Waris Punjab De chief.

Amritpal Singh’s close aide Daljeet Singh Kalsi, who handles the Khalistani leader’s finance, has also been arrested from Haryana’s Gurgaon.

The Punjab Police on Sunday morning arrested 78 members of the Waris Punjab De chief, headed by Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh after the death of its founder and actor Deep Sidhu last year in a car accident.

Four of his top arrested aides were flown to Assam’s Dibrugarh by a special craft and are likely to be kept in the high-security Dibrugarh Central Jail.

Amid Punjab Police’s crackdown on the radical Sikh leader, the internet suspension across the state has been extended for another 24 hours to prevent the spread of misinformation and rumours through social media.

The Department of Home Affairs and Justice, Punjab, said all mobile internet services, all SMS services (except banking & mobile recharge) and all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice call, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab suspended till March 20, 12 noon, in the interest of public safety.

In the latest development, the Punjab Police have seized 2 cars of Amritpal Singh and recovered a number of weapons. The state police also reached the residence of the Khalistani leader today morning and conducted the search, however, they didn’t find anything illegal, claims Amritpal Singh’s father Tarsem Singh.

The police have been questioning Tarsem Singh about his son’s whereabouts. Tarsem said he doesn’t have the correct information about him. The police should have arrested him when he left the house in the morning, he added.

Tarsem also told the media that the police have asked the family to tell Amritpal to surrender. He called the police action unjustified and said his son was weaning the youth off drugs.

The Assam government on Sunday suspended the IAS officer Sewali Devi Sharma in connection with the alleged financial irregularities and misappropriation of funds. Sharma was working as a secretary to the Assam government’s Agriculture Department.

As per the official notification, Sewali Devi Sharma opened five bank accounts without the approval of the Assam government during her tenure as the Executive cum Director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT).

It was also reported that FRBM rules were not followed in respect of those five bank accounts. The notification further stated that a report of enquiry on the functioning of ODL under SCERT found financial irregularities and very credible references to the misappropriation of funds.

The Joint Secretary of the Assam Government signed the notification stating that Sharma has been suspended from the post of Secretary of Assam’s Agriculture Department with immediate effect. Sewali Devi Sharma’s suspension is placed under rule 3(1) of the All India Services (Disciple and Appeal) Rules, 1969.

The Assam government has also suspended Assam Civil Service (ACS) officers for alleged financial irregularities in the execution of projects under the MP Local Area Development Fund.

The officers who are suspended are Assam’s Home and Political Department Secretary Sharmistha Borah, Additional Commissioner of Kamrup Metropolitan Sukandya Borah, Hemanta Kumar Dutta, Tinsukia Zila Parishad CEO Munindra Bordoloi. According to the reports, all the accused have been placed under immediate suspension, pending the drawal of departmental proceedings.

The report stated that Rs 28 lakhs were allocated from the Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan’s MPLAD Fund for the construction of three roads in Barpeta, however, no roads were constructed and the funds that were allocated were withdrawn by submitting fake road construction bills.

Delhi Police on Sunday reached the residence of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi regarding his remarks that women are still being sexually assaulted.

A Delhi Police team, led by Sagar Preet Hooda, the special commissioner of police (law and order) have arrived at his residence to know the details about the victims so that legal action can be taken.

During the pan-India foot march Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar, the former Congress chief gave a statement that he has heard that women are still being sexually harassed. He said he met several women and they told him that they had been raped.

Hooda said they have come to the Congress leader’s residence to talk to him about the sexual harassment victims he was referring to during his speech in Srinagar. He said they are trying to get details from him so that justice can be given to the victims.

The police on March 16 issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi to gather information about the women who had approached him in connection with sexual harassment. The police had also sent him a questionnaire regarding this, however, he is yet to respond to it. Police sought details of the victims so that security can be provided to them, an official said.

Delhi Police said another notice will be served to the grand-old party leader if he fails to give details about the victims.

Congress called Delhi Police’s move another tool of harassment. They said there can be a statement, but they can’t compel him to reveal the names of the victims. The action is malicious and bogus.

The party further said as it’s a sensitive case involving the life and security of individuals, the team is working to collect relevant information to ensure evidence and witnesses aren’t tampered with.