Who is Papalpreet Singh, Amritpal Singh's mentor who calls himself a journalist?

Pro-Khalistan radical Amritpal Singh has been evading arrest for 11 days. He has been changing his locations constantly and appearing on CCTV cameras at several places. On Tuesday night, the police intercepted a vehicle allegedly carrying Singh. After a long chase, the occupants of the car abandoned the vehicle and fled. Singh's associate Papalpreet Singh has been accompanying him in this cat-and-mouse game. He can be seen riding with him on motorcycles, in cars and on foot. Who is Papalpreet Singh?

According to reports, Papalpreet Singh is the main handler of Amritpal Singh. Amritpal considers him his mentor and media advisor. He is also linked with ISI. They are allegedly trying to break the peace in Punjab by fanning their pro-Khalistan sentiments.

Papalpreet calls himself a video journalist. He reportedly runs a pro-Khalistan website. In 2015, the Badal government had booked him in a sedition case, reported Aaj Tak. In 2015, he was also arrested for alleged links with ISI. He was also arrested the next day.

The website said had completed his computer science diploma in 2015.

According to the Indian Express, the Income Tax department had found his accounts to be fake. He had furnished the details in his income tax returns.

In December 2022, he told the income tax department that his income from YouTube was Rs 20,000 per month. He earned Rs 15,000 from his hair business.

On Tuesday, Amritpal Singh was seen sipping soft drinks with Papalpreet. 

The Punjab Police launched a massive search operation on Tuesday in Hoshiarpur after some suspects abandoned their vehicle after a chase. The police had been searching for Amritpal Singh, a pro-Taliban radical preacher who led an attack on a police station a few weeks ago.

The police, suspecting that Amritpal Singh could be in the car from Phagwara, chased a vehicle. The occupants of the car abandoned the vehicle and fled near Gurdwara Bhai Chanchal Singh in Marnaian village.

The police have launched a cordon and search operation outside the village. They have also erected barricades near the village.

With inputs from PTI