Dr Swaiman Singh, an Indian-origin cardiologist based in the United States, has warned the Punjab government against fake encounters in the backdrop of the massive search operations to locate Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh. Dr Singh, who came to India to provide medical aid to farmers protesting against the now-repealed farm laws at the Delhi border for a few days in 2020 and stayed with them for over a year, tweeted Monday morning that he hoped that the era of fake encounters and illegal detention was over in Punjab and cautioned the government that a fake encounter would not be tolerated. Addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Dr Singh, said, “Shutting down internet/media blackout brings back bad memories for a community that has suffered too much for too long. The world is watching. Ideological differences should be dealt with dialogue for a democracy to be successful.” The state must maintain the law and should not break it, and Punjab can’t afford more bloodshed, he urged in the tweet. I hope Punjab is over the era of fake encounters and illegal detention. Charge accordingly if someone is guilty of a crime but you will be committing a state crime if any individual is harmed. We will not tolerate a fake encounter, @narendramodi nor @BhagwantMann . Shutting down… — Dr. Swaiman Singh (@SinghSwaiman) March 19, 2023 Dr Singh’s tweet came after Amritpal’s uncle Harjit Singh had stated that he was not absconding and was ready to be arrested. Harjit and his driver were arrested on the night of Sunday and Monday. He was travelling with Amritpal on Saturday when the police crackdown on the self-styled preacher began. Amritpal’s advocate filed a habeas corpus petition in Punjab and Haryana High Court Sunday evening, saying that his client was illegally detained. A bench of Justice NS Shekhawat issued a notice to the Punjab government and police officials for March 21 on the habeas corpus petition, seeking to produce Amritpal before the court. On Sunday, the police shifted four associates of Amritpal to Dibrugarh, Assam. They were identified as Daljit Singh Kalsi, Bhagwant Singh, Gurmeet Singh and ‘Pradhanmantri’ Bajeka.
