New Delhi: In a major breakthrough in the month-long manhunt for radical Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh was arrested from outside a gurdwara in Moga’s Rode Village in Punjab Sunday.
The 30-year-old was arrested around 7 am from the same village where he was anointed the head of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ last year and is also the ancestral home of the patriarch of the Khalistan insurgency, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
Singh had slipped through a security dragnet on 18 March in Jalandhar as the police tried to close in on him and his aides. Singh, who is now charged for six serious offences, ignited action after storming a police station a month earlier.
On 24 February, along with his supporters who brandished swords and other weapons, Singh had attacked the Ajnala police station in a bid to free a fellow radical preacher.
Several of the preacher’s aides have been arrested under NSA and taken to Assam’s Dibrugarh for questioning, including key aide and mentor Papalpreet Singh.
The ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief will also be shifted to Dibrugarh jail.
Last week, his wife Kirandeep Kaur was stopped at the Amritsar international airport, while she was about to board a flight to England.
Catch all the LIVE updates here:
08:00 pm: A heavily fortified strong set-up and the need to keep Amritpal Singh out of his “native eco system” are the main reasons why Assam’s Dibrugarh Central Jail was selected to lodge him and his associates booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). More on why authorities selected Dibrugarh Jail.
07:10 pm: Congress’s Randeep Surjewala casts doubt on the chain of events leading to the Khalistani preacher’s capture. Akal Takht jathedar had suggested Amritpal to surrender, Akali Dal asserts. More details here.
07:00 pm: In a video message, purportedly recorded right before his arrest Sunday morning, the self-styled Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh can be heard saying that “he decided to surrender even though he had several options, including fleeing to other countries”. Punjab Police, however, rubbished his claims and said that they arrested him from Moga. Read more.
04:52 pm: Self-styled radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Dibrugarh of Assam.
04:20 pm: Watch: Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh brought to jail in Dibrugarh, Assam.
#WATCH | Assam: Khalistan supporter and 'Waris Punjab De' chief Amritpal Singh who was today arrested by Punjab police, was brought to jail in Dibrugarh. pic.twitter.com/cTGbk6oZjW
— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2023
03:15 pm: A special flight carrying Amritpal Singh from Punjab landed at Dibrugarh airport, Assam Sunday, officials said. Singh was brought aboard the flight from Bathinda after his arrest by Punjab Police. He will be taken to the town’s central jail which has been converted into a high security jail ever since eight of his associates were lodged there.
02:15 pm: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann held a press conference, stating “It had been 35 days. Today Amritpal Singh was arrested. Action will be taken against those who try to disrupt the country’s peace and law. We will not disturb any innocent person. We don’t do vendetta politics”, while noting that if Singh was arrested earlier, there was possibility of bloodshed.
#WATCH | Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann says, "…It had been 35 days. Today #AmritpalSingh was arrested. Action will be taken against those who try to disrupt the country's peace and law. We will not disturb any innocent person. We don't do vendetta politics…" pic.twitter.com/knUNPhDNCy
— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2023
01:45 pm: Reacting to the arrest, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, “Law is mighty. Stringent action should be taken against those who spread terror and fear.”
Delhi Education Minister Atishi also congratulated the Punjab Police & CM Bhagwant Mann, stating, “This is the result of one month of tireless efforts of the Punjab Police and the Mann government for the last 1 month, the Punjab Police was after Amritpal and his supporters, and raids were conducted in every part of the country and at places linked to him.”
#AmritpalSingh arrested | How long can an absconder be on the run? Law is mighty. Stringent action should be taken against those who spread terror and fear. Punjab took a little time, had it been done sooner it would have been even better: Union Minister Anurag Thakur
(File… pic.twitter.com/ZCwxSDyzB3
— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2023
01:15 pm: Amid surrender claims, Punjab top official Sunday said that the police have ‘arrested’ the ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief after he was surrounded from all sides and had no way out.
Addressing a press conference, Punjab’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), Headquarters, Sukhchain Singh Gill said, “It is very clear that we have arrested him, he was surrounded from all sides and had no way to escape. Whatever he said inside the Gurudwara Sahib it is not right to comment on it.”
Also read: Hindu Rashtra doesn’t sanctify Amritpal’s Sikh separatism. Breaking India won’t fix problems
12:10 pm: Last year after Amritpal Singh became chief of Waris Punjab De, he described Bhindranwale — the man who had fortified the Golden Temple, and set off Operation Blue Star in 1984 — as an “inspiration”. Read the profile of the fiery orator here.
11:45 am: Congress leader Randeep Surjewala comments on the arrest of Amritpal Singh by Punjab Police by questioning, “Who helped the anti-India propagandist and supporter of terrorists, Amritpal Singh escape in the first instance?”
11:30 am: Watch| Earlier visuals of Waris Punjab De Chief Amritpal Singh at Gurudwara in Moga, before he was arrested.
11:05 am: A senior Punjab Police official said Amritpal Singh was arrested after police personnel surrounded him, leaving him with no way to escape.
10:30 am: A timeline from Dubai to Dibrugarh — Read here about Amritpal Singh’s infamy lasts 8 months.
10:13 am: Watch | “NSA warrants were issued against Amritpal Singh and those warrants have been executed today morning. Amritpal Singh has been arrested by Punjab Police around 6.45 am today morning in village Rode,” Punjab IGP Sukhchain Singh Gill said.
#WATCH | "NSA warrants were issued against #AmritpalSingh and those warrants have been executed today morning…Amritpal Singh has been arrested by Punjab Police around 6.45 am today morning in village Rode," Punjab IGP Sukhchain Singh Gill says pic.twitter.com/Lxl6KOXcB8
— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2023
10:00 am: Jasvir Singh Rode, former jathedar of the Akal Takht said the surrender happened before him, adding that Senior Police officers, including that the inspector general (IG) of intelligence and senior superintendent of police of Amritsar (rural) were also present.
It is likely that Amritpal chose the village for symbolic reasons, said police sources, as it is the birthplace of the deceased militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. The police believe that Amritpal’s decision to surrender was an attempt to regain his reputation, which he had lost during the past month while he was on the run. Read more.
Also read: Amritpal’s rise and fall expose a vulnerable Punjab. Minority bashing will boost radicalism
09:40 am: Watch | Singh Sahib Giani Jasbir Singh Rode, at Rodewal Gurdawara in Moga, narrates the sequence leading up to the arrest of the pro-Khalistani leader.
#WATCH | Punjab: Singh Sahib Giani Jasbir Singh Rode, at Rodewal Gurdawara in Moga, narrates the sequence leading upto to the arrest of Waris Punjab De's #AmritpalSingh pic.twitter.com/x9eiUlIhvN
— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2023
09:30 am: Watch | Visuals of Waris Punjab De’s Amritpal Singh at Gurudwara in Moga, Punjab, just before his arrest.
#WATCH | Earlier visuals of Waris Punjab De's #AmritpalSingh at Gurudwara in Moga, Punjab.
He was arrested by Punjab Police from Moga this morning and is likely to be shifted to Dibrugarh, Assam. pic.twitter.com/2HMxTr50s7
— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2023
9:00 am: According to police sources, Amritpal reached the village Saturday night with the intention to surrender. He spent the night at the village Gurdwara and prayed there in the morning before surrendering. Police sources added that he wanted to surrender in the presence of Jasvir Singh Rode, former jathedar of the Akal Takht who was then called by the police. Read the full story here.
Also read: Hindu Rashtra doesn’t sanctify Amritpal’s Sikh separatism. Breaking India won’t fix problems
08:50 am: Watch | Punjab: Amritpal brought to Air Force Station in Bathinda by Punjab Police. He was arrested from Moga earlier this morning.
#WATCH | Punjab: Waris Punjab De's #AmritpalSingh brought to Air Force Station, Bathinda by Punjab Police. He was arrested from Moga earlier this morning. pic.twitter.com/mbjziJEb3N
— ANI (@ANI) April 23, 2023
8:15 am: The ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief is currently being taken to Dibrugarh, Assam where he will join nine of his associates including aide Papalpreet Singh. He has been booked under ‘The National Security Act’, which allows detention up to a year without any charge.
8:00 am Khalistani preacher and a fugitive from the law, Amritpal Singh, surrendered before the Punjab Police on Sunday and was arrested.
The state police confirmed the arrest in the morning, but warned citizens from sharing any fake news. “Urge citizens to maintain peace and harmony. Don’t share any fake news, always verify and share,” the Punjab Police tweeted.
#AmritpalSingh arrested in Moga, Punjab.
Further details will be shared by #PunjabPolice
Urge citizens to maintain peace and harmony, Don't share any fake news, always verify and share.
— Punjab Police India (@PunjabPoliceInd) April 23, 2023