Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 21: As the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday slammed the Punjab police for their failure in the last three days to nab the Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh, the police said it had recovered video footage showing his entire escape route and expressed the confidence that he would be in their dragnet soon.
“You have 80,000 cops. What were they doing? How did Amritpal Singh escape?” the High Court asked Punjab government. The court remarked that this is an intelligence failure of the state’s police and asked the police to submit a status report in their operation against the Khalistani leader.
The court’s remarks come amid the Punjab Police action against the Khalistan leader and members of his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’. The Punjab police told the court that they launched a major crackdown against Amritpal Singh on Saturday, and have managed to arrest 120 of his supporters.
The elusive preacher, however, gave them the slip and again escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Jalandhar district. Amritpal Singh, whom the government describes as a Khalistani-Pakistan agent, was last seen speeding away on a motorcycle on Saturday evening in Jalandhar.
Khalistani leader has been caught in security footage during different stages of his escape. In footage Singh is seen exiting a car and hightailing it on a bike. The 30-year-old radical preacher is also seen in a clip from a toll booth in Jalandhar at around 11.27 am on Saturday, the day the Punjab police launched its operation to arrest him. He is in the front seat of a Maruti Brezza car.
Before this, Amritpal Singh had been spotted in a Mercedes SUV that he dumped by a road in Shahkot. Hours later, he switched to the Brezza of an associate, sources say. He apparently changed his clothes in the car, as the footage shows him in a shirt instead of his usual flowing robes.
He swapped his religious clothes for shirt and trousers and changed from a blue to a pink turban. Another clip shows him leaving the car and making his getaway along with three aides in two bikes. This changeover takes place on a road by a lush green field.
The police believe he hid in a Gurdwara, changed his clothes again and fled. The police also released a set of his seven pictures, from hirsute to clean shaven, the possible avatars or looks of Singh hoping that people could help spot him. In the pictures the 30-year-old radical preacher, who styles himself after the Sikh terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was seen in various guises and turbans.
The Punjab Police have recovered a Brezza car using which Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh fled from Mehatpur, inspector general of police (IGP) Sukhchain Singh Gill informed on Tuesday.
The senior Punjab police official narrated the sequence of events of how the pro-Khalistani radical preacher managed to evade the police so far. “Four accused who helped Amritpal escape have been arrested. A .315 bore rifle has been recovered from the Brezza car”, Gill said.
The IGP said after giving a slip to the police in Mehatpur, Amritpal Singh stayed in a gurdwara in Nangal Ambian village. He later changed his attire into shirt and trouser and took a motorbike to flee further.
The Punjab Police have said an arrest warrant has been issued against Amritpal Singh under the stringent National Security Act. A total of 154 people have been arrested in the case so far.
“Those arrested for helping Amritpal to flee from Mehatpur include Manpreet Manna (28) of Nawan Killa village of Shahkot, Gurdeep Singh Deepa of Bal Naun in Nakodar, Harpreet Singh Happy (36) of Kotla Nodh Singh village of Bullowal Hoshiarpur and Gurbhej Singh alias Bheja of village Goindara of Faridkot”, the senior cop said, adding that three more people accompanying the wanted preacher to flee from Nangal Ambian Gurdwara are still absconding.
More than 120 people, including Amritpal Singh’s uncle, have been arrested since Saturday. Several members of his outfit “Waris Punjab De” have also been arrested under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and detained in BJP-ruled Assam. Internet was suspended for three days but was restored in parts on Tuesday.
The police crackdown on Amritpal Singh came three weeks after his supporters clashed with cops on February 23. They stormed a police station, flashing swords and firearms, threatening the police with huge consequences if they did not release Singh’s aide Lovepreet Toofan, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting and abducting a man.
Amritpal Singh has been active in Punjab for some years and is often seen waving from the sunroof of his Mercedes, escorted by armed supporters. He claims to be a follower of terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in Operation Blue Star in 1984, and is known as “Bhindranwale 2.0” among his supporters.
Amritpal Singh and his supporters, armed with swords, knives and guns, raided a police station last month after one of the preacher’s aides was arrested for alleged assault and attempted kidnapping. Several policemen were injured in the brazen daytime raid on the outskirts of Amritsar, heaping pressure on authorities to act.
According to official sources, Amritpal Singh has been maintaining close links with Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and some terrorist groups based abroad. The Khalistani leader is believed to be close to of UK-based Khalistani terrorist Avtar Singh Khanda and he is believed to be a key factor behind his rise to prominence. He was allegedly building a “private militia” of youth from drug de-addiction centres, to be used for violent protests.
Earlier in the day, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said strict action would be taken against those trying to disturb peace and harmony in the state. “We will not spare any force working against the country. People of this state want peace and progress,” Mann said adding that no incident of violence had been reported since the operation to arrest the Khalistani leader began.