Punjab police arrest lawyer among 3 for assisting fugitive Amritpal Singh
2 min read . Updated: 15 Apr 2023, 12:33 PM IST
Premium- Two of the arrested persons belong to the Jalandhar district, while one hails from Babak village in Hoshiarpur.
Punjab's Hoshiarpur police detain three individuals, including a lawyer, for allegedly assisting fugitive 'Waris Punjab De' leader Amritpal Singh, who has been evading arrest since March 18.
Two of the arrested persons belong to the Jalandhar district, while one hails from Babak village in Hoshiarpur.
While there has been no official statement regarding their arrest, sources have revealed that the individuals are currently in the custody of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA). Amritpal Singh and his mentor, Papalpreet Singh, had reportedly fled from Marnaiyan village on the night of March 28.
On April 10, two siblings from Rajpur Bhaiyan village were taken into custody on suspicion of harboring the fugitives. They are currently in police custody for further investigation.
Papalpreet Singh, believed to be a strategic member of the group with close ties to Pakistan's ISI, was apprehended in Hoshiarpur last week and has been charged under the National Security Act (NSA).
On the other hand, Amritpal Singh, who is associated with Waris Punjab De, remains at large as the Punjab Police continues its extensive crackdown against the group and its members.
Papalpreet Singh, along with seven other members of the pro-Khalistan group, was transported to Dibrugarh in Assam from a location over 2500 km away in the northern state. They were all lodged in the central jail on Tuesday last week.
Following the incident where Amritpal Singh and his supporters forcibly stormed the Ajnala police station near Amritsar to secure the release of a detained associate, the crackdown on Waris Punjab De began several weeks later. This event had sparked concerns about the resurgence of Khalistani militancy in the state that shares a border with Pakistan.
The Khalistan sympathiser has been on the run since March 18 when police launched a major crackdown against him and members of his outfit 'Waris Punjab De.'
Amritpal had escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18, switching vehicles and changing appearances.
While initial reports had placed him in Haryana, his exact location remains a mystery. Alerts have also been sounded in Nepal, with officials remaining vigilant about Singh's potential alert into the other country.
Last month Nepal's Department of Immigration had put Singh on its surveillance list following a request from the Indian Embassy.