Amritpal Singh arrest | A midnight call to CM, and an order to cops: don’t enter shrine, don’t shoot

“He categorically said that there cannot be an issue like Bargari and Behbal Kalan that would keep haunting the state for years. He gave out the orders that there will be no firing of bullets and the police would not enter the premises of the gurdwara,” said an aide of the chief minister, privy to the developments that took place in the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

“When it was decided that the entire village would be cordoned off, the CM asked the DGP to ensure that there was heavy police presence but no panic. So, it was decided that the police would be posted in the village in civil clothes as such heavy force in uniform could have become a reason for panic or protests,” the source added.

The source added that the CM also sought a quick report from the intelligence officials about the fallout, if any, in the state if Amritpal was arrested. “He was told that Amritpal’s network had been completely paralysed as his main handlers, including uncle Harjit Singh, financier Daljeet Singh Kalsi and mentor Papalpreet Singh had been arrested and sent to Dibrugarh jail in Assam. This had left Amritpal with no support. Those, who had harboured him earlier, were also arrested. Hence, nobody wanted to give him shelter. Things had come to such a pass in Punjab that people had stopped offering lift to strangers in their cars in the aftermath of the crackdown on the radical preacher and arrest of those harbouring him,” the source added.

Unlike March 18, when Amritpal managed to escape the net spread to arrest him after coming to know about the heavy police presence and their plan, this time the men in khaki were prepared. They took time spreading the officers across the village before cordoning it off. It was only after that the police officials sent messages inside the gurdwara informing Amritpal that they have secured the village and any attempt to try to escape will be an exercise in futility, the source added.

“When Amritpal understood that there was no way to escapethis time, he walked out of the gurdwara at about 7 am on Sunday.

He was arrested immediately. But before he walked out, Amritpal got a video recorded while sitting in front of a portrait of slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale and making an announcement that he was surrendering,” the source added.

Rode is the ancestral village of Bhindranwale and the shrine in which Amritpal had taken shelter — Gurdwara Janam Asthan Sant Khalsa — has been erected in his memory.

Sources said that while he was on the run, Amritpal had been taking shelter at the deras and the village gurdwaras following which intelligence officials had been keeping an eye on all the major Sikh shrines. The gurdwara at Rode village was always on their radar considering Amritpal’s fondness for Bhindranwale whose style, mannerisms, and way of speech he had been copying to endear himself to masses, especially in rural Punjab

They said that the strategy to not fire shots at him on March 18, when he was intercepted at Jalandhar, worked. “He got cornered. He had no option but to seek refuge in Rode gurdwara. He had exhausted all his options with police arresting all his handlers. It was a peaceful operation. For 36 days, he was being followed by the police. The CM did not want any shootout and it worked this way,” said a functionary.

Earlier, Mann in his address to people after Amritpal’s arrest had stated that he was awake whole night as he wanted to be on the top of the situation. He had stated that he was on the phone taking stock of the situation every 15 minutes. Mann also stressed that he did not want any bloodshed during the operation saying “had we arrested him on March 18, then bullets would have been fired; we did not want to do that”