Jailed Amritpal Singh associates shifted out of Punjab over prison-break fears

Radical preacher Amritpal Singh’s associates were shifted out of Punjab on Thursday, March 23 after Central Intelligence agencies raised concerns over possible jailbreak and rerun of the Ajnala incident. After a brief meeting with the state police officials, sources in the Intelligence agencies shared their intelligence report on arrested ‘Waris Punjab De’ (WPD) associates under the National Security Act (NSA) and recommended shifting them out of Punjab.

Notably, some associates of Amritpal Singh have been shifted to the Dibrugarh jail in Assam due to security reasons.

"The arrested persons would have indulged in jailbreak, had they been put in jail in Punjab. They would have radicalised other jailed criminals and would have associated them in Anandpur Khalsa Fauj/AKF,” the report said.

Further, the intelligence report on arrested ‘Waris Punjab De’ (WPD) associates said, "They would have created a law and order situation by mobilising support against the arrest as seen in the Ajnala incident. Either they would have run their criminal activities from within the jail in Punjab."

"The arrested persons were charged under NSA because they are using youth for violence and promoting gun culture by naming his private militia as Anandpur Khalsa Fauj/AKF, a threat to national integrity by openly declaring that they do not believe in State and defying orders of Punjab Government not to display weapons in open, beating youth (of) so-called drug de-addiction centres who did not toe the line of WPD etc," the report said. 

The report further asserted, "Had not been taken under NSA, the goons of Waris Punjab De would have repeated such incidents as they did not believe in the majesty of the law. Their links with proscribed outfit SFJ (Sikhs for Justice) who have now come in open support of WPD,” it said.

On February 23, thousands of Amritpal Singh’s supporters stormed the Ajnala police station, flashing swords and high-calibre firearms and threatening the police with dire consequences if they did not release Lovepreet Toofan, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting and abducting a man. The supporters, brandishing swords and guns, broke through police barricades erected outside the Ajnala police station.

According to Punjab police officials, Amritpal Singh was last seen in Haryana's Shahbad. Notably, the Punjab police officials are examining the CCTV footage from every possible location. Most recently, the police got their hands on footage where the fugitive can be seen walking down the streets of Shahbad. According to the officers, the man who was seen walking with an umbrella is the Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal when he reached Shahbad after fleeing from Punjab. In the footage, the absconder can be seen roaming in a completely different attire as opposed to his Nihang ensemble which he donned while causing chaos in Amritsar last month.

#BREAKING On #ThisIsExclusive | Republic accesses new CCTV footage of Amritpal Singh; Waris Punjab De chief spotted in Haryana's Shahbad.#AmritpalSingh #Punjab #PunjabPolice #Khalistan #WarisPunjabDe pic.twitter.com/0gErtENOPp

— Republic (@republic)