Khalistani separatist and radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh’s notoriety in India survived barely eight months – from September 2022 to 23 April 2023.
Born in 1993 in a devout family, Singh moved to Dubai in 2012 after failing to graduate. He worked in a family transport business for a decade before shifting base to Punjab in September 2022.
That same month, Singh was appointed the chief of the controversial organisation “Waris Punjab De”, which was formed a year earlier by Sandeep Singh Sidhu or Deep Sidhu. The pressure group was created to propagate the causes of an independent Khalistan.
Deep Sidhu, who shot to fame during the farmers’ protests, was killed in a road accident in February 2022.
This what happened next:
29 September, 2022: Amritpal Singh was appointed chief of “Waris Punjab De” by his supporters.
16 February, 2023: An FIR was lodged against Singh and his aide Lovepreet Singh Toofan on charges of kidnapping, thrashing and attempted murder.
17 February, 2023: Toofan was arrested by the Ajnala Police.
23 February, 2023: Amritpal Singh and his supporters – brandishing swords and other weapons – attacked the police station.
24 February, 2023: Under pressure, Toofan is released by the police.
25 February, 2023: Authorities, including the Director General of Police, discuss action against Singh and his followers. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is kept in the loop.
2 March, 2023: Mann and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah. It is decided that the Centre and the state would work together on all security issues.
17 March, 2023: After the G-20 meeting concluded in Amritsar, police put to motion a statewide crackdown on Singh and his aides.
18 March, 2023: A strong contingent of cops try to intercept Singh’s cavalcade at Mehatpur in Jalandhar, but the separatist gives them the slip.
That same day, four of his supporters are airlifted to the Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam after the Punjab government slaps them with the stringent National Security Act (NSA).
20 March, 2023: Amritpal Singh’s uncle Harjit Singh and his driver surrender in Shahkot, Jalandhar. Harjit is also booked under NSA and flown to Dibrugarh.
21 March, 2023: Punjab Police tells the state high court that NSA had been invoked against Singh.
23 March, 2023: Haryana Police arrest one Baljit Kaur from Shahbad, who reveals she had sheltered Amritpal Singh and his key aide Papalpreet in her Kurukshetra home on 19 March. The two reached her home after changing their outfits and vehicles.
March, 2023: CCTV footage from Haryana and Delhi show that Singh and Papalpreet had been on an inter-state run.
10 April, 2023: Papalpreet Singh is arrested from Amritsar.
20 April, 2023: Amritpal Singh’s wife Kirandeep Kaur stopped at the Amritsar international airport, while she was about to board a flight to England.
23 April, 2023: Amritpal Singh arrested from Punjab’s Moga after a month-long run from the law. He came to the Rodewal gurudwara Saturday night, addressed followers and surrendered at 7 am the next morning. He will be taken to Dibrugarh, the state police said.
Also read: Amritpal’s rise and fall expose a vulnerable Punjab. Minority bashing will boost radicalism