A day after Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu alleged that some pro-Khalistan elements were plotting to assassinate him and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, police in Moga Monday said an FIR has been lodged and two persons, including a juvenile, have been rounded up. Bittu had made the allegations based on leaked chats of a WhatsApp group named 'Waris Punjab De Akali Dal Moga'. Police said that a third suspect has also been identified and all of them were supporters of jailed Lok Sabha MP and pro-Khalistan radical leader Amritpal Singh. The police action came even as senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who was also a target in the purported leaked chat, demanded the immediate arrest of all members of the WhatsApp group and a probe by the National Investigation Agency. Bittu had alleged that Khalistani elements linked to Waris Punjab De, an outfit headed Amritpal Singh, were plotting to “assassinate him” and some other politicians including Shah and Majithia. The leaked screenshots of the chat in the WhatsApp group found its way to social media platforms Sunday. The members of the group, now deleted, were angry over the extension of Amritpal Singh's detention under the National Security Act for one more year. Deputy Inspector General (Faridkot Range) Ashwani Kapoor said an FIR has been registered under the sections 61(2)(a), 113, 152 and 353 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 13 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act and 66, 67 of the Information Technology Act at the Cybercrime police station in Moga. The WhatsApp group was "deleted after its screenshots went viral on social media,” the DIG said, adding they are trying to identify all “25-30 unidentified people” who were part of the group and discussing the assassination plots. “Some of them were giving suggestions and volunteering to execute the plans. The group's administrator is yet to be identified. Three have been identified and named in the FIR. All of them are the supporters of Amritpal Singh and they were enraged over his NSA detention being extended," said the DIG. He said that among the two suspects who have been rounded, one has been identified as Balkar Singh of New Model Town in Khanna, while the other, from Moga, claims to be 17 years old. Meanwhile, Majithia demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency. Asserting that Amritpal was a 'dhongi' (hypocrite) and not a 'pracharak' (preacher), Majithia claimed that the Khadoor Sahib MP and his family had always supported the Congress. The SAD leader also released some screenshots of the WhatsApp conversations, in which 'Waris Punjab De' members purportedly seem to be asking while they are ready to be "martyrs", would their families be looked after in case they did carry out the assassinations. He also released a purported audio clip of the group in which a woman can be heard instigating its members. Majithia said he had opposed Amritpal on principles, especially when the latter used the Guru Granth Sahib as a shield to attack the Ajnala police station to free a supporter in 2023. "This is the reason why I am being targeted now", said Majithia. Amritpal Singh (32) is currently lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail. He was put in detention under the NSA after he was arrested on April 23, 2023. Amritpal, who styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Moga's Rode village on April 23, 2023, following a more than a month-long manhunt.
