Dibrugarh, Apr 24 (PTI) Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh was produced before a court in Assam on Friday in connection with a case related to the 2024 recovery of unauthorised electronic devices from his cell in Dibrugarh Central Jail.
A day after the Punjab Police took him into custody following the expiry of his three-year National Security Act (NSA) detention, Singh appeared before First Class Judicial Magistrate Chandan Saikia via video-conferencing from the Dibrugarh Police Station.
Nine of his associates, who were earlier lodged alongside him in Dibrugarh but later transferred to various jails in Punjab, were also produced simultaneously via video-conferencing from jails in Goindwal, Bhatinda and Patiala.
The case dates back to February 17, 2024, when the then Superintendent of Dibrugarh Central Jail, Nipen Das, recovered a spy camera pen, a smartphone with a SIM card, a keypad phone, a TV remote, pen drives, bluetooth headphones, speakers, and a smartwatch from the high-security NSA cell where Singh and his nine aides were imprisoned.
An FIR was registered at Dibrugarh Police Station and subsequently Nipen Das was also arrested on March 8, 2024, in connection with the same case and booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Assam Prisons Act, and criminal conspiracy.
Singh’s lawyer Jasbir Kaur said the trial proceeded via video-conferencing as permitted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
She said that two witnesses were also produced on Friday, and three witnesses have been examined so far.
Kaur said Singh will remain at Dibrugarh Police Station until Saturday and then shifted back to Dibrugarh Central Jail.
He was taken into custody for two days in connection with the Ajnala police station attack case of February 2023.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had last week permitted the Punjab government to arrest him after the expiry of his NSA term, while allowing all proceedings to be conducted through video-conferencing.
A Punjab Police team from Amritsar (Rural) led by a DSP-rank official, has been camping in Dibrugarh since April 19.
Singh was first taken into custody on April 23, 2023, from Punjab’s Moga district – nearly two months after he and his armed supporters allegedly broke through barricades, barged into the Ajnala police station on the outskirts of Amritsar, and clashed with officers to secure the release of an aide.
Charges have already been framed against 41 accused, including Singh, under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Twelve other cases are pending against Singh and his supporters across Amritsar (Rural), Jalandhar, and Moga, linked to incidents of violence and intimidation.
He is also named as the alleged main conspirator in the murder of social media influencer Gurpreet Singh, alias Hari Nau, who was shot dead in Kotkapura on October 9, 2024, while returning home from a village gurdwara.
Singh had won the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 general elections as an independent candidate while incarcerated in Dibrugarh Jail. He was administered the oath of office on July 5, 2024 after he was granted parole for four days.
This was the only time he attended Parliament, and two subsequent pleas seeking parole to attend sessions were rejected by the high court, with the Punjab government consistently flagging law and order concerns. PTI CORR DG RBT
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