HT Digital
GUWAHATI, Mar 17: The Punjab Police will assume the custody of seven aides of incarcerated radical preacher and Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh from Assam’s Dibrugarh jail, as their detention under the National Security Act (NSA) is to lapse without renewal.
This was confirmed by a top police official on Sunday, adding that these people will now be dealt with legally in connection with the 2023 Ajnala police station attack.
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Amritpal Singh, the chief of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ group, and nine of his colleagues have been under detention in Dibrugarh jail under the NSA for the last two years. Singh recently hit the headlines after winning the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat as an independent candidate.
The seven men scheduled to be repatriated back to Punjab are Basant Singh, Bhagwant Singh Bajekhana, Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwal, Daljit Singh Kalsi, Gurinderpal Singh Guri Aujla, Harjit Singh, and Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal. They have not been officially arrested in the Ajnala case so far but will now be repatriated back to Punjab for interrogation.
We are proceeding with the investigation. We will arrest these seven suspects in FIR number 39 and return them to Punjab for legal action. Investigation into the Ajnala incident will go on,” DIG Satinder Singh said to reporters in Amritsar.
When questioned about the status of Amritpal Singh, the DIG did not make any statement. But he ensured that due legal action would be initiated against the seven who are being returned, as their period of detention under NSA ends.
Amritpal Singh’s NSA detention, along with nine of his accomplices, was renewed for one more year last year. Singh, whose claim to fame has been taking cues from provocative Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was picked up on April 23, 2023, from Rode village of Moga after a police dragnet lasting nearly a month. Singh had last avoided arrest at Jalandhar on March 18, 2023.
The police crackdown on Singh and his followers was precipitated by the February 23, 2023, Ajnala incident, in which Amritpal Singh and his armed supporters invaded a police station, calling for the release of an aide. The group, some of whom were armed with swords and guns, broke through barricades and fought with law enforcement officials.
Singh and his aides are also charged with a variety of serious offenses, ranging from spreading communal discord, attempt to murder, and assaulting policemen to obstructing public servants. As Punjab Police gets ready to reinstate the seven aides, the case is still attracting national attention, fuelling fears regarding radical movements and internal security within the state.
