Chandigarh: 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.
The video message, which has been widely shared on the social media, was purportedly recorded when Amritpal was at a gurdwara in the Rode village in Moga district from where he was arrested Sunday.
In the video clip, the 30-year-old Waris De Punjab’s controversial head says he was surrendering after a month because the state government has been exposed completely in the eyes of the people as it had committed “untold oppression and atrocities” on his supporters.
The police, however, rubbished Amritpal’s claim of surrendering at his will saying that they had surrounded the village and forced him to come out of the gurdwara where he was hiding, adding that he had no option to flee.
Amritpal has been on the run since 18 March when the police launched a massive operation to nab him and his men. The self-styled Khalistani preacher, along with hundreds of supporters had stormed a police station at Ajnala in Amritsar on 23 February in order to secure the release of an aide who had been arrested by the police on allegations of kidnapping and assault. Since February, at least six criminal cases have been filed against him.
Conflicting versions
Addressing a press conference Sunday, Sukhchain Singh Gill, Inspector General (IG), headquarters, and spokesperson for Punjab police, said that a joint team of the Punjab Police and Punjab Intelligence laid siege to the village Saturday night after they received information that Amritpal was hiding in the village.
“He was in the gurdwara. He remained in the gurdwara for sometime and after he came out at 6:45 a.m., we arrested him. We did not enter the gurdwara because of maryada (decorum). We nabbed him the moment he came out,” said Gill.
Gill said Amritpal has been shifted to the Dibrugarh jail in Assam under the National Security Act (NSA) which was invoked against him last month, said sources.
Meanwhile, talking to media persons Sunday morning, former jathedar of the Akal Takht, Jasbir Singh Rode said that he received a call from somebody in the Punjab Police at about 12:30 in the night (Saturday) informing him that Amritpal was in Rode village and intended to surrender.
“I immediately left Amritsar and reached the village at 4:30 a.m., where I met Amritpal. He had already decided to surrender,” said Rode.
“Amritpal took a kit containing fresh clothes. He had a bath and wore the bana (white long dress worn by Sikh preachers) and chappals (slippers). He prayed for sometime and then he addressed the sangat (congregation) and he, finally, came out at around 7 [in the morning] and surrendered before the police who arrested him. I was there all along,” he said.
“It is absolutely wrong to suggest that Amritpal was arrested. He has surrendered… the police will give its own version but this is how it happened. The SSP Ajnala (Amritsar Rural) and an IG of the Intelligence were present to arrest him,” said Rode.
When contacted, Satinder Singh, Amritsar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), told ThePrint that Rode had no role to play in Amritpal’s arrest.
“The gurdwara belongs to Rode’s family. He was inside the gurdwara when Amritpal was arrested. Another 15 people, including 2-3 women devotees were present in the gurdwara at that time… We arrested him after he came out of the gurdwara,” said Singh.
Singh added that Amritpal was inside the gurdwara for sometime during which he made the video message and said whatever he wanted to say but there is no doubt that he did not surrender.
Rode’s role & Amritpal’s video message
Amid Amritpal’s claims of surrender and police’s counterclaims of his arrest, the role of former jathedar of the Akal Takht, Jasbir Singh Rode remains unclear.
Rode is the nephew of slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and was heading the committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to coordinate efforts regarding providing legal and financial aid to families of those arrested since the police crackdown on 18 March. SGPC is the apex body that oversees Sikh institutions.
Bhindranwale had headed a violent movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s for “Sikh sovereignty”. He was killed in Golden Temple in June 1984 following Operation Bluestar.
In September last year, Rode had permitted the Waris Punjab De outfit to use the premises of the gurdwara in Rode for Amritpal’s dastarbandi (turban tying) ceremony.
“I am surrendering from the same spot from where I had started my journey,” Amritpal said in the video message.
He also said that a month ago, the Indian government had joined hands with the Punjab government and launched a full blown attack on the Sikh community.
“Had it been a question of mere arrest, the police could have arrested me from my house and I would not have resisted. But the manner in which they surrounded us, it did not look as if they wanted to merely arrest us,” added Amritpal.
“In the past month, the real face of the government has come to the fore,” he said, adding that Sikhs here and abroad have protested against it.
“Untold oppression and atrocities have been committed against the Sikh youth and now nobody should have any doubt anymore that we are equal citizens or free,” he said.
He said that he was neither afraid of arrest earlier nor was he afraid of arrest today.
“I will exhort all of you to continue with the struggle and continue to partake Amrit (nectar),” he said, adding that the Sikh community also needed to stay together and not get divided on any lines.
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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