Punjab Police warns against rumours, mischief on Amritpal’s arrest

Amritpal Singh had been run since March 18, the day when he ditched police amid a widespread crackdown on his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’.

| Updated: 23 April, 2023 12:09 pm IST

Amritpal Singh outside a gurdwara at Rode village in Moga (left) and IG Sukhchain Singh Gill (right).

New Delhi: After arresting Khalistan supporter radical preacher Amritpal Singh, Punjab Police on Sunday issued a warning to the public not to engage in any rumour or hate mongering.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sukhchain Singh Gill said that strict action will be taken against anyone who spreads rumours or mischief after Amritpal’s arrest.

Speaking at a press conference, Gill said that Punjab Police had been working continuously for 35 days to capture Amritpal, and he was arrested from outside a gurudwara at the slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s native village Rode in Moga district.

Acting on intelligence inputs, police teams surrounded the village in the wee hours of Sunday and waited for Amritpal to come out of the gurdwara.

“Policemen did not enter the gurdwara keeping in mind its sanctity. He was placed under arrest when he came out,” Gill said, adding the state remains peaceful.

IG Gill informed that Amritpal was taken to Bathinda and then airlifted to Dibrugarh jail in Assam, where he will be put behind the bars under the National Security Act (NSA).

He thanked the people of Punjab for maintaining peace and harmony during the operation, while stating that more than 78 of Amritpal’s associates have been arrested.

Before his arrest, Amritpal sat in front of a large portrait of Bhindranwale for ‘sangat’.

Amritpal had been on the run since March 18, when the Punjab Police launched a major crackdown against him and his outfit. Last month, he gained attention after entering and storming a police station in Ajnala to release his associate from police custody.

The police have been carrying out a series of raids and arrests in recent weeks, and the capture of Amritpal is expected to deal a major blow to the organization.

Earlier, police teams thwarted Amritpal’s attempts to surrender before the police at Amritsar’s world famous Golden Temple, Anandpur Sahi’s b and some other gurdwaras.

In a video released by his supporters, Amritpal said that he would surrender before the police on Sunday to be with his associates who are lodged in a jail in Dibrugarh.

“We have exposed the real face of the current state government during the last one month,” he said.