‘May have happened on tacit orders of Home Minister or CM’: Amrinder Singh Warring on Amritpal escape

The Punjab Police has launched a crackdown on Waris Punjab De leader Amritpal Singh and his aides but the radical Sikh preacher is still on the run.

“I am very sure if you would have cautioned Punjab government on the urgency of the matter and had the government been serious about the damage he was inflicting on the law & order situation by misguiding the youth of Punjab, the present-day situation could have been avoided. As the old saying goes, the evil design of Amritpal Singh should have been nipped in the bud. Had action on my earlier letters of caution been taken, the sufferings of the Punjabis by suspending internet for so many days could have been avoided,” Warring wrote.

Wrote a letter to @DGPPunjabPolice to highlight the growing concern regarding the large number of youngsters being rounded up. While @INCPunjab doesn’t support any leniency towards anti national elements, but a soft approach is needed to rehabilitate these misguided youngsters. pic.twitter.com/BEn809z8gZ

— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) March 22, 2023

Alleging that the police crackdown was “indicative of utter failure of intelligence agencies”, he added, “Even when the present action was initiated by getting 50 Battalions of CPOs (Central Police Organisations) and full posse of Punjab Police, Amritpal Singh was able to give slip and escape the security cordon. I have always been appreciative of the capabilities of Punjab Police under your able leadership as Director General, but I am dumbstruck and aghast at the failure of the Punjab Police.”

“I am sure that he must have been under police surveillance for his antinational activities for quite some time. As per the information in public domain, he is said to have escaped by switching vehicles and changing dresses. He surely must have planned to position such vehicles, arrange dresses and motorcycle riders much in advance,” Warring further wrote. “This is indicative of utter failure of intelligence agencies keeping tab on his activities or it may have happened on the tacit orders of Union Home Minister/State Chief Minister, who are always keen on earning political mileage out of every happening,” he added.

“I am surprised why the entire area of his hiding was not cordoned off when such a large force was available? Why were the chase routes not blocked by flashing radio messages on police wireless network? Day by day, Punjabis are losing faith in the capabilities of government and its functioning due to such botched up actions,” Warring added.

The PPCC president also pointed out that the police were “rounding up a large number of youths who are branded as associates of Amritpal Singh”. “No doubt some young boys must have been misguided by his religious sermons, yet I feel that branding them as hardcore antinational elements will further alienate these young people from mainstream and may push them to become hardliners, which Punjab can ill afford at this juncture,” Warring said. “We don’t support any leniency towards antinational elements or criminals, but a soft approach is needed to bring these misguided youth back into the mainstream and rehabilitate them,” he added.

Warring said he was hopeful that his third letter would “not meet the same fate as the earlier two”. “Punjabis have earned this peace at tremendous cost…I once again strongly suggest you advise the government to be firm in dealing with criminals and antinational elements but at the same time show cautious handling towards the misguided youth who may be on the periphery in the whole situation and can be brought back into the mainstream,” Warring wrote.