New Delhi: 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).
Moreover, a “word” put in to Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma made the process “swift and easier”, ThePrint has learnt.
According to a source in the security establishment, there is a provision in the NSA which gives powers to the police to send a prisoner to any jail in the country.
For the purpose, the recipient state is first contacted informally to seek consent and ask if there is a vacancy in the prison. If it agrees, a formal request is then sent to the CM office and the Director General Prisons through the State Home department.
In this case as well, the Punjab Police got in touch with the Assam administration and sent a formal request after receiving its consent.
“What made this process hassle free was the willingness of the Assam government to facilitate this. A good word was put in for the same and when we contacted them. The prison department was more than willing,” the source said.
According to the source, the main consideration is that the prison where the accused would be lodged is well guarded by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and is in a “remote area” which puts him out of his native ecosystem.
“The distance of the state is important. The main concern is to assure that it is remote enough to make the prisoner feel completely out of place. In this case, we wanted to make sure that Amritpal or his associates have no one around who may have any interests in Punjab,” the source said.
This also ensures that no one comes to meet the accused while they are in jail, the source said.
“If they are in Punjab jail or even in a jail in Delhi, there will be long queues of relatives, supporters who will queue up to meet them. There in Assam, no one would think of travelling that far,” the source said, adding that this plays a psychological role too as the prisoner is isolated which acts as a big hindrance.
“If they are around people they know, they would start planning something or the other, arrange for phones inside, plan criminal activities. When they have people with no common interest or link around, they won’t be able to function. That is the idea,” the source said.
Amritpal was arrested early Sunday morning by the Punjab police and was taken to Air Force Station in Bathinda from where he was flown to Assam.
Nine of Amritpal’s aides Daljit Singh Kalsi, Papalpreet Singh, Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, Varinder Singh Johal, Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwala, Harjit Singh, Bhagwant Singh, Basant Singh and Gurinderpal Singh Aujla are already lodged in Dibrugarh jail.
‘Well-fortified, political will’
A second source said that Dibrugarh jail, which was used to hold top militants during the peak of ULFA militancy, is considered to be a jail with a strong setup and that is why it became a clear choice to lodge Amritpal and his associates.
“Dibrugarh jail is not packed with prisoners like other states. There are vacancies and there is a very good security arrangement. The CRPF is guarding the central jail. It is surrounded with CCTVs and there are teams of the state police that are also deployed,” the source said.
A similar decision was taken after protests broke out following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. The administration sent at least 300 prisoners arrested under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), which allows for detentions of up to two years without trial, were sent outside the Union Territory.
These included youngsters involved in incidents of stone pelting. Many of them were lodged in Bareilly, Agra and other areas of Uttar Pradesh.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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