Late on Sunday night, the uncle and driver of pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh surrendered to the Punjab Police near Bullandpur Gurudwara in Shahkot area. Amritpal’s uncle Harjit Singh and driver Harpreet Singh surrendered before the deputy inspector general of police (Border Range) Narendra Bhargav, and the police recovered the Mercedes car in which they had escaped during an interception by the Punjab Police at Mehatpur Police station on Saturday.
However, the hunt for Amritpal continues. Jalandhar senior superintendent of police (Rural) Swarandeep Singh stated that the state police has arrested 112 supporters of Amritpal so far. On Sunday, the police conducted flag marches and searches across the state in the manhunt for Amritpal. The Punjab government launched a major crackdown against Amritpal and his ‘Waris Punjab De’ the day before, with the police arresting 78 members of the outfit on that day.
Amritpal, a pro-Khalistani preacher, had escaped the police dragnet somehow after his cavalcade was intercepted in the Jalandhar district. The police also shifted four men in custody to a jail in far-off Assam’s Dibrugarh. The men were identified as alleged fund raiser Daljit Singh Kalsi, Bhagwant Singh, Gurmeet Singh, and ‘Pradhanmantri’ Bajeka.
However, the Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the state government to respond on Tuesday to a habeas corpus petition, claiming that the preacher is already in illegal police custody and should be released. Police have found the vehicle Amritpal had escaped in with his uncle and recovered a weapon, a sword, and several rounds of bullets. The vehicle, an Isuzu SUV, was found abandoned at a village in Jalandhar district early in the morning.
The crackdown on Amritpal began on Saturday and came weeks after Amrtipal and his supporters barged into the Ajnala police station near Amritsar, extracting an assurance that an arrested aide would be released. Twenty-one of Amritpal’s supporters were taken into custody near Boparai Kalan in Jalandhar district when they tried to stage a dharna over the previous days’ action.
