On March 18, the “hope” of Khalistanis reportedly sped away in his posh Mercedes SUV to get away from the Punjab Police near Jalandhar. As per the News18 report, his car and phone were found dumped in a ditch to throw the police officials off his trail. In a late evening press release, Punjab Police said Amritpal Singh was still on the run.
Singh was about to leave his house at his parental village Jallupur Khera for Jalandhar when Police initiated a massive operation to arrest him. The police force stayed at the village border to arrest him. Singh was travelling in his SUV with two SUVs in front and back. Police wanted to arrest him outside his village, where he has a stronghold, and any operation could have led to a law and order issue.
When his vehicle reached Shahkot-Malsian road near Jalandhar, around 60 police cars intercepted his convoy. One of the SUCs was hit. Two of the SUV were stopped by the police, and the police arrested seven armed gunmen of Singh. However, Singh managed to escape. A video by Singh’s aide went viral on social media, where they appealed to his supporters to gather and block the police.
Later, his SUV and phone were found ditched in a village near Nakodar. Some reports suggest he managed to escape on a bike. Police suspected he was hiding in Sarinh village of Nakodar, where a search operation was conducted to nab him. Some speculations have been made that the National Investigation Agency might take over the case once Singh gets arrested, and he could be booked under the National Security Act (NSA).
Funding from Pakistan
Notably, it was reported that Singh’s treasurer Basant Singh received funds from Pakistan earlier. While Amritpal Singh was in Dubai, he reportedly maintained close contact with Jaswant Singh Rode, the brother of Lakhbir Singh Rode, the chief of the Pakistan-based International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF). Amritpal Singh currently heads ‘Waris Punjab De’. Furthermore, the source also revealed that Amritpal Singh’s treasurer, Basant Singh Daulatpura, was receiving funds from Pakistan.
Amritpal’s rise in Punjab
Amritpal Singh was a follower of Deep Sidhu and actively participated in online campaigns and scissions with the pro-Khalistani late actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu who had founded Waris Punjab De in 2021. After Sidhu died in a road accident, Amritpal Singh took over the organisation. At that time, he was in Dubai. He returned to India in September and officially took charge of the organisation. Since then, his rise has been seen in a similar timeline to the rise of Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in the late 1980s.
