There are reports in the Indian media that pro-Khalistani activist Amritpal Singh soon could surrender at Akal Takht in Amritsar. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann assured his state saying the state police were prepared for it or any other eventuality.
In the recently released video by Amritpal which went viral two days ago in which he spoke about his excellent condition and high spirits while being apprehensive about the conditions his friends and supporters taken to Assam jails might be in, he appealed to the entire Sikh community all over the world to unite over the Vaisakhi 2023 festivities and fight for Khalistan.
Taking the cue from the video, Bhagwant Mann, in an attempt to commit that he (Amritpal) would not be tortured, said this in relation to the possible surrender or arrest:
“We assure him nobody will be tortured. The police will function within their legal limits.”
After they lost him in chase, the Punjab police have deployed drones at a village in Hoshiarpur district where they suspect Amritpal and his accomplices had abandoned their car following a chase two days ago.
Amritpal went live on FB
A day after he released the video statement, fugitive Amritpal on Thursday went live on Facebook, with the same message.
The police believe he cannot be too far away but that remains to be tested as he has already shown his skills in avoiding arrest having left them completely fooled when he was spotted multiple times near and at Nangal Ambia Village, Shahkot, near Jalandhar, changing cars and then finally escaping on a motorbike having changed his clothes and get up.
Second failure to nab him
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann was questioned on the second failure of Punjab police in a fortnight to catch Amritpal. Bhagwant Mann said his teams were “at it.”
According to reports, Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh was instigating Punjab youth to take up arms if necessary and be ready to die for the sake of creating Sikh homeland, Khalistan. Some reports suggest, he was targeting around 800-1000 youth to create Khalistani army called AKF or Anandpur Khalistan Force.
After he attacked a police station with his strong force of followers in February, the Authorities buckling to pressure to release one of his accomplices nabbed by the police, according to some inside reports, he really felt heartened and fearless and stepped up his activities delivering more intense and more frequent speeches to incite the youth of Punjab against anyone who opposed the creation of Khalistan – the breaking up of India to break away the Indian state of Punjab.
When the police came after him on March 18, the same force which had capitulated only four weeks back, he was on his way to address another such gathering.
Amritpal was completely taken aback. Some suggest, some police insider informed him that they were after him and it was real.
One of Amritpal’s supporters went live on social media as police began their pursuit, and the car chase started going viral. Videos on social media show the chanting of “police is coming, police is coming after us…”.
Also read: Was Brisbane Khalistan referendum a flop?
While the Punjab police while criticized that they failed to catch Amritpal there have been constant claims made by his supporters and those of Khalistan supporters, particularly the outfit he represented – Warris Punjab De – that the Punjab Police is illegally holding him in custody and he had been arrested on March 18.
Legal Secretary of the Warris Punjab De group, advocate Imaan Singh Khara has filed a Writ Petition (of Habeas Corpus) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court Chandigarh asking the court to order that Amritpal be produced and released from the police’s illegal detention.
Making a complete mockery of this claim was the news that Amritpal and his accomplice Papalpreet Singh may have been travelling in the car sighted near Hoshiarpur in Punjab. The next, after again managing to dodge arrest, Amritpal releases a video claiming no one can do him harm and he was safe and well, not arrested or in custody.
The police are under pressure to nab him as soon as possible.
The Himachal Pradesh police has been alerted and they have reportedly beefed up surveillance at entry points.
If the surrender news has any credibility, things must be at the negotiating stage.
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