Chandigarh: The Punjab Police is on a constant lookout for Amritpal Singh, head of “Waris Punjab De”, according to sources. However, Amritpal Singh has not been arrested yet. Section 144 has been imposed in several districts of Punjab including Amritsar, Fazilka, Moga and Muktsar.
Jalandhar Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal said that Amritpal Singh has been declared a proclaimed offender. Two of his cars have been seized and his ganmen have been caught.
The Punjab Police said in a statement on Saturday that 78 close associates of pro-Khalistan Amritpal Singh have been arrested. Police in seven districts have cordoned off the area where
Amritpal Singh and his associates were surrounded by the police near village Mahetpur in Shahkot, Jalandhar.
The police had prior information about Amritpal Singh’s arrival in Shahkot. Due to this, Moga Police had closed all the roads of Moga and Shahkot and set up a big naka. The police had earlier arrested six of his accomplices.
As a precautionary measure, the administration had shut down the internet in many areas of Punjab from 12 o’clock last night. Sources say that due to the G-20, the government waited to take action on Amritpal Singh.
Amritpal Singh, the chief of pro-Khalistan outfit Waris Punjab De, has three cases registered against him, two of them at Ajnala police station in Amritsar district. Angered by the arrest of one of his close aides, Amritpal, along with his supporters, attacked the Ajnala police station on February 23. The Punjab Police was being criticized for not taking action against him in this case.
Amritpal Singh had rescued his worker from the police by staging massive protests against the arrest of his key aide Lovepreet Singh. Amritpal Singh, a pro-Khalistan activist often surrounded by armed supporters, has been active in Punjab for some time.
Amritpal Singh is the head of “Waris Punjab De”. It is a radical organisation started by actor and activist Deep Sidhu. Sidhu died in a road accident in February last year.