As cops chased him, preacher took to social media: Amritpal remained elusive, but videos kept coming

Amritpal Singh was on the run since March 18. Meanwhile, some pictures and CCTV videos were also released by the police in which he was seen travelling to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Amritpal Singh, reportedly, shot his first two videos in Hoshiarpur after returning to Punjab. However, his last videos were again shot in Moga, the district from where he first fled the police.

Videos from gurdwara

At least three videos of Amritpal Singh were uploaded on social media declaring his presence in Gurdwara Sant Khalsa Sunday morning. The first video shows him addressing the sangat at the gurdwara. In another video, the camera follows him to the basement of the gurdwara where a large portrait of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale can be seen. He is seen bowing before the portrait in the video. In the third video, he recites from Sikh scriptures. Former Akal Takht jathedar Jasbir Singh Rode made the videos public.

Chandigarh: In this grab from a video, Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh. Singh in his video message slammed the Punjab Police for arresting Sikh youths during a crackdown against him. (PTI Photo)

Videos he shared

Apart from the three gurdwara videos, Amritpal Singh had himself released three videos while he was on the run. He released his first video on March 29, when his lawyer was claiming in the Punjab and Haryana High Court that he was in police custody. In his video, apart from giving reasons for evading arrest, he asked Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh to call sarbat Khalsa – a deliberative assembly of the Sikhs.

However, there were questions over the authenticity of the video and even his supporters seemed sceptical. After this, he shot another video and released it on March 30. In the second video, he refuted the claim that the earlier video was shot in police custody and repeated the demand to call sarbat khalsa.

These videos were reportedly made in his hideouts in Hoshiarpur, where he took shelter after his dramatic escape from the police on the night of March 28 in which he got separated from Papalpreet Singh and two others. He was on his own while making these videos.

In both videos, he alleged that the government was ‘oppressing’ Sikhs and hinted that he would soon surrender to the police or appear in public.

As he had asked the jathedar to call sarbat khalsa, it also led to speculations that he might surrender at Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo on the occasion of Baisakhi. It resulted in the police making unprecedented security arrangements at Talwandi Sabo town amid the call of the Akal Takht jathedar to Sikhs to reach Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in large numbers.

The last video Amritpal Singh shot before his arrest was released on Waris Punjab De International Instagram account after the Punjab Police claimed that they have cordoned off Rode village. However, the video contradicts the police version and claims that Amritpal Singh himself surrendered to the police.

Notably, Amritpal Singh managed to use social media to his advantage even when he was on the run. Despite blocking the official pages of many journalists and news organisations since the crackdown on Waris Punjab De began last month, the police failed to stop him from putting his message across to his followers.