Fugitive Khalistan Leader: Canada Says it is Following Developments “Very Closely”

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Mar 25: Even as the Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh continued to evade arrest and was believed to be hiding in Delhi, Canada said on Saturday that it was “very closely” following the developments in Punjab and would continue to address the concerns of the community.

Answering a question from Indo-Canadian MP Iqwinder S Gaheer in the Canadian House of Commons, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said, “We are aware of the evolving situation in Punjab, and we are following it very closely. We look forward to a return to a more stable situation,” she said.

“Canadians can always count on the Government of Canada to make sure that we will continue to address the concerns of many members of the community,” she added. Gaheer said he had heard about the ongoing mass suspension of Internet services in Punjab and asked Joly to update the House about the situation in India.

Responding to questions about foreign leaders and parliamentarians commenting on the action against Amritpal Singh, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi urged people residing abroad not to believe “inaccurate and motivated narratives” that are being circulated by some elements on social media. “Authorities in Punjab are undertaking operations to nab a fugitive. Information regarding that operation is being shared by authorities concerned on a regular basis,” the spokesman said.

The authorities in Punjab last week suspended internet and SMS services in the state following the police crackdown against elements of ‘Waris Punjab De, (WPD)’ headed by the radical preacher. Police in Punjab are still searching for Amritpal Singh.

Earlier on Wednesday the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said in the House of Commons: “We are looking forward to a swift return to a more stable situation.” Canada has also seen a rise in anti-India activities recently by Khalistan supporters who have vandalised some Hindu temples.

A Ram Mandir in Mississauga was defaced by ‘Khalistani extremists’ with anti-India graffiti on February 13, drawing a strong reaction from the Indian Consulate in Toronto.

“We strongly condemn the defacing of Ram Mandir in Mississauga with anti-India graffiti. We have requested Canadian authorities to investigate the incident and take prompt action on perpetrators,” India’s Consulate in Toronto had tweeted.

The Punjab police said Amritpal Singh was seen wearing a jacket and trousers while escaping the state’s dragnet during the massive crackdown on his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’. Usually seen in traditional religious attire, he also sported a pair of dark goggles in the security camera footage accessed by the police. The CCTV footage was from Amritsar, recorded on Monday. Amritpal was said to be hiding at a relative’s house there.

Videos revealed he left for Kurukshetra in Haryana from Amritsar, and was headed for the national capital, sources said. He allegedly disembarked at a bus terminal in the guise of a monk in Delhi on Friday. Teams of Delhi and Punjab Police were present at the Inter State Bus Terminal in Delhi’s Kashmere Gate since this morning and have been scanning the CCTV footage.

CCTV cameras last showed him leaving the home of a woman who had sheltered him while he was fleeing from the police. The footage showed the separatist carrying an umbrella to hide his face. Baljeet Kaur, the woman who sheltered Amritpal Singh and his aide Papalpreet Singh at her house in Haryana’s Kurukshetra, has been arrested, the police said.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir police on Saturday arrested a couple for alleged links with Amritpal Singh and handed over to the Punjab police. The police identified the arrested couple as Amrik Singh and his wife Paramjit Kour, resident of R.S. Pura, Jammu. They have been detained for reportedly having links with Papalpreet Singh, a close aide of Amritpal Singh, officials said. The mobile phones of the couple have also been seized. “The matter is being investigated by the Punjab Police and they will be questioning the couple,” officials said.

The police said the gun licenses issued from J&K’s Kishtwar and Ramban districts to Amritpal Singh’s two bodyguards accompanying him were cancelled, official sources said. Officials said the district magistrates of Kishtwar and Ramban districts in the Jammu province cancelled the arms licences of the two bodyguards, Talwinder Singh and Virender Singh, who were seen accompanying the pro-Khalistan Sikh leader in several videos.

The Punjab police have also said the evidence gathered so far in connection with Amritpal Singh showed that he was allegedly raising a militia which would have become an “enormous threat” to the peace and harmony in the State and national security. However, it was averted by timely action.

More information about the unit named Anandpur Khalsa Force (AKF) has been revealed allegedly by Tejinder Singh Gill, a close associate of Mr. Amritpal Singh, who was arrested in Khanna on March 22. “He [Gill] is privy to all the anti-national activities and information about [the] close associates of Amritpal,” said a police statement.

The accused was part of the AKF that was being raised by Amritpal Singh “to wage an armed struggle for the formation of a separate Khalistan State.” Its members were given martial arts and weapons training, including firing practice. During questioning, he allegedly disclosed that the AKF members had been assigned belt numbers, perhaps based on seniority.

A resident of Maloud in Khanna, Gill was previously named in two criminal cases. He was convicted in a case under the Excise Act, while the other was closed after a compromise with the complainant. Gill came in contact with Amritpal Singh through Bikramjit Singh Khalsa, whom he had met during the farmers’ agitation in Delhi. He went to the WPD chief’s native village Jallupur Kheda about five months ago, and was inducted as a gunman for him. He was given weapons bearing “AKF” mark.

The accused revealed that regular firing practice and military drill was conducted at a makeshift firing range in the Jallupur Kheda Canal area. The AKF members — who were later paid salaries by Amritpal Singh — included youngsters, like Gill. They had got associated with the WPD for de-addition, and were later indoctrinated and recruited.

The police have also come across two WhatsApp groups named “AKF” and “Amritpal Tiger Force.” Based on the findings, the police said another accused Gurbhej Singh had arranged 10 bullet-proof vests for the unit about two months ago. He also gave weapons training to the newly inducted WPD members. Video clips showing some members allegedly displaying expertise in weapon handling, assembling, disassembling and cleaning, have been seized by the police.

Gill told the police that a person named Harsimrat Singh Hundal was responsible for Amritpal Singh’s security arrangements. He would take care of the weapons and assign them on a daily basis to the members. Some of the weapons even had long-range telescopes affixed to them.

The police examined Gill’s phone and found video clips and images indicating that the accused persons had designed the “AKF” hologram and emblems of the “proposed State, its said provinces and currency bills.” It also contained the photograph of a Pakistani national’s driving licence.