4 min readAmritsarMar 19, 2023 08:13 AM IST
First published on: Mar 18, 2023 at 09:17 PM IST
Even as Warris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh remained untraceable, his father said that police had asked the family to tell him to surrender. Police, however, have not made public anything about their crackdown on the radical Sikh leader and his supporters.
“We don’t know where Amritpal Singh is. According to our information, he was arrested. But the police have asked us to tell Amritpal to surrender. We are concerned that something may happen to him,” his father told reporters.
“Police are after Amritpal but doing nothing against drug smugglers. Amritpal came to Punjab just a few months back. What were they doing about the crime before he came?” said his father. “Amritpal is working against drugs. It is the reason that there is political pressure to arrest him. This action against Amritpal is unjustified. There are drugs in every home. But there is no focus on that issue. If someone is trying to end the drug menace, he is being stopped.”
Asked if Amritpal’s activities were anti-national, he said, “Isn’t selling drugs anti-national?”
“Police came to our home and searched it. We cooperated with them. We are doing nothing illegal to hide,” said Amritpal’s father.
The crackdown came just days before Amritpal was to resume Khalsa Vaheer from Muktsar district. Asked if Khalsa Vaheer is the reason behind the crackdown, he said, “Yes, that is also a reason.”
Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in Amritpal’s native Jallupur Khera village in Amritsar district. Amritpal was to attend two functions on Saturday, one at Shahkot in Jalandhar and the other in Moga. Police, however, had other plans. They gave him a surprise when his motorcade was intercepted near Shahkot.
His supporters have shared online videos alleging a police crackdown but police have neither confirmed nor denied any allegations.
Amritpal had plans to visit a village in Bathinda district. He had been on the way there when police tried to intercept him near Mehtabpur in Jalandhar. Six of his supporters have reportedly been detained from Mehtabpur.
Before the crackdown, Amritpal released a video and announced that Khalsa Vaheer would start from Sunday. “Vaheer was suspended for some reasons. Now it will start from Sunday. We will start from Muktsar and conclude at Takht Damdma Sahib Talwandi Sabo on the occasion of Baisakhi.”
Khalsa Vaheer was started by Amritpal last year with an aim to baptise the Sikh youth. Its first phase started in November and concluded in December.
Soon after the Khalsa Vaheer video surfaced online, Amritpal’s supporters broke news that police were chasing his vehicles. Unverified videos also show Amritpal sitting in a speeding car. His supporters’ houses have also been raided.
There was a kidnapping case registered against Amritpal at the Ajnala police station in Amritsar. Police did not disclose if they had registered any case against him after his supporters stormed into the police station on February 24.
Police force at Amritpal's native village Jallupur Khera in Amritsar. (Express photo by Rana Simranjit Singh) 
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