The crackdown on Amritpal Singh and his Waris Punjab De group entered its fifth day on March 22 and his whereabouts are still unclear. Many things are happening now in connection with this crackdown, apart from the ‘hunt’ for Amritpal Singh.
Here are five key aspects you should know about.
Police claims about Amritpal’s absconding
In a press conference on Wednesday, the Punjab Police claimed that during the chase, Amritpal Singh fled to a Gurdwara in Nangal Ambian village of Jalandhar district.
“As the police chased them, they fled to the Gurudwara and prevailed upon Granthi to give them clothes. They spent 40-45 minutes there. They called bikes and fled.”
SSP Jalandhar Rural, Swarandeep Singh
According to the timeline provided by the police, Amritpal Singh was traveling in a Mercedes SUV when the chase started, after which he moved to a Brezza and finally on bikes from Nangal Ambian village onwards.
Police say they have recovered the bike used in the getaway.
A picture emerged of Amritpal Singh with an aide transporting his bike on a motorized cart.
Police on Tuesday claimed that Amritpal Singh may have escaped in disguise and released a number of pictures of him, including his shaved beard and cropped hair.
However, some of Amritpal Singh’s supporters still claim that he has already been detained. Before he surrendered, his uncle Harjit Singh
Arrest
According to Punjab Police IGP Sukhchain Singh Gill, 154 people have been arrested so far for “disturbing peace and harmony” in the state. He informed that a notice has been issued against Amritpal Singh.
He said 37 people were taken into preventive custody.
The National Security Act has so far been invoked against five aides of Amritpal Singh – actors Daljit Kalsi, Gurmeet Singh Bhukhanwala, Basant Singh, Bhagwant Singh aka Pardhan Mantri Bajeke and Amritpal Singh’s uncle Harjit Singh.
Akal Takht Jathedar convenes a high-level meeting
Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Harpreet Singh, has convened a high-level meeting of selected Sikh organizations, intellectuals, lawyers and student organizations on March 27 to discuss the situation in Punjab.
The Akal Takht is the supreme temporal body of the Sikh community.
The political wrangling over Crackdown
With no news of Amritpal Singh, the political tussle over the intervention seems to be gaining momentum. The Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal promised to provide legal support to all those arrested or detained in the crackdown. They have also released a helpline that people can contact.
On Wednesday, the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly – Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa – demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the failure to nab Amritpal Singh.
He said that the entire operation was mismanaged and that Amritpal Singh could have been arrested from his village in Amritsar district.
Social media intervention – 122 handles denied
According to Twitter’s disclosure to the Lumen database, a total of 122 accounts were suspended in connection with this crackdown.
The list includes Canadian politicians Jagmeet Singh and Gurratan Singh, poet Rupi Kaur, voluntary organization United Sikhs, MP from Sangrur Simranjit Singh Mann, civil society organization Khalra Mission, and American author Pieter Friedrich. The accounts of a number of journalists from Punjab who reported on Amritpal Singh were also suspended.
Many of these handles are not attached to Waris Punjab De.
