After a manhunt lasting almost 40 days, the Punjab Police finally nabbed notorious fugitive and Waris De Punjab Chief Amritpal Singh in Moga on Saturday.
Amritpal Singh had escaped from police custody a month ago, which had sent tremors of chaos across the world. The fugitive, who was a staunch believer of Khalistan, had escaped with some of his close aids, who were also caught in the past 2 weeks.
The Punjab Police had been under the lot of pressure, from the Judiciary, the Centre as well as the State government for their negligence and irresponsibility. The arrest will now prove to be a feather in the cap of the 80,000 strong police force.
Ever since his escape, Amritpal Singh was sighted at several places, like Patiala and Amritsar. Some reports also said that he had fled to Nepal. Which of the news and reports were factual and which were just rumors are hard to distinguish.
Punjab police confirmed the arrest and stated that its the people’s responsibility to not spread any fake or false news.. Please encourage everyone to maintain peace and harmony, do not share fake news and always check and share,” the police tweeted.
Police sources said the 29-year-old surrendered at Gurdwara in Lode village, Moga district. Images of the radical preacher in custody have surfaced on his social media. He wears a traditional white robe.
Amritopar Singh has been transferred to Dibrugarh, Assam, where his eight aides are already detained under the National Security Act, which can be held without charge for up to a year.
Amritpal Singh, whom the government calls an agent of Haristan Pakistan, has been active in the Punjab in recent years, often accompanied by armed supporters. He claims to be a supporter of the Haristan separatist and terrorist Jhanail Singh Bindranware, known to his supporters as “Bindranware 2.0”.