Not fugitive, but rebel, says Amritpal; terms ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ a test for Jathedar

“I am not a fugitive, but a rebel. I am with my community and supporters. I am not going to run away from the country. I do not fear the government. Do whatever you want to do. I will soon appear before the world and will also be amongst the ‘Sangat’,” he said

Police have stepped up security in and around Amritsar and Bathinda amid reports that Amritpal may surrender after entering any of the two Sikh shrines — Golden Temple or Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, located in the two districts, respectively.

Amritpal claimed that living life as a “rebel” was not easy and cited example of Guru Gobind Singh leaving the fort of Anandpur Sahib and going to Macchiwara forests. He said that when Guru Gobind Singh “left Anandpur Sahib fort, people closed the doors on him telling that he got his sons killed and had now come to get their sons killed two”.
“It is not easy to walk 20-22 kilometres and have only one meal a day. It is an uneasy path. I am undergoing a test,” he said.

He reiterated that Akal Takht Jathedar should give a call for Sarbat Khalsa. “If he doesn’t give the call, it is also a test of how serious he is about doing something for the community. He faces allegations of doing politics under the influence of a family. It is also time to come out of such allegations,” Amritpal said.

The pro-Khalistan preacher said he requested the Jathedar for a Sarbat Khalsa call because he took the initiative by calling a meeting of Sikh organisations.

He also urged Akal Takht chief that instead of small Khalsa Vaheers (religious processions), a Vaheer should start from Akal Takht and while passing through various villages should reach Talwandi Sabo on Baisakhi day on April 14 for ‘Sarbat Khalsa’.

“I never said that Vaheer shouldn’t be carried out. I only said that taking out Vaheer though villages is just a formality, because people are already aware about the issue. There is a need to mobilise Sangat. There is a need to bring them together and free them from the fear of the government. We should come together and fight for the community,” he added.

Earlier in the day, he had released an audio message, in which, addressing the Akal Takht Jathedar, he said, “We should understand that this is the time where the community should unite and I ask all factions to unite as there is need to give proof of their existence,” he said.

Meanwhile, a senior police officer said that “the videos of Amritpal were apparently released by people sitting outside the country to evade any police action on any of their local supporters here”. The officer added that “the videos were likely shot at some place locally, but released and made viral from abroad”. The officer added that the exact details would emerge only after the arrest of Amritpal. A number of social media platforms operating from foreign countries were among the first to relay the pre-recorded video of Amritpal on Wednesday.

The official websites of Hoshiarpur district police and a number of other police districts were not accessible Thursday. After an unsuccessful chase Tuesday night and subsequent operation to nab Amritpal and his key associate Papalpreet Singh, the police focus has been on Hoshiarpur while carrying out search and combing operations.

The other police districts, whose websites were not accessible included Jalandhar and Moga, the two districts which were in spotlight when crackdown began on March 18 and Amritpal managed to escape, Ludhiana police commissionerate, Ludhiana Rural, Sangrur, Patiala, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Ropar. While attempting to open the websites of these district, some displayed message ‘Forbidden. You don’t have the permission to access the resource”. The websites of number of other police districts were however functional. An official said, the websites which were not accessible were likely due to “server being down”.