On the run for over a month, Amritpal Singh arrested, sent to jail in Assam

Amritpal’s arrest came days after his wife, Kirandeep Kaur, a British national, was stopped from boarding a flight to Birmingham at the Amritsar airport on April 20. Police said he was held after they surrounded the village, following intelligence inputs.

In a purported video clip being circulated on social media, Amritpal mentions the date, April 23, and says he will surrender where it all started — at the gurdwara in Rode village where his dastarbandi (turban-tying ceremony, when he took over as Waris Punjab De leader after returning from Dubai) was held last September. In another purported video clip, he is seen delivering a brief address inside the gurdwara, where he talks about “attack on the Sikh community”.

Hours after his arrest under the National Security Act, Amritpal was taken on a special flight from Bathinda to Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam, where nine of his associates are lodged.

In a video message, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said he was in touch with police officers throughout the night to ensure the operation ended “smoothly and peacefully”.

Addressing a press conference at the police headquarters in Chandigarh, Inspection General of Police (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill said Amritpal was “under relentless pressure from Punjab Police”, and this led to his arrest at 6.45 am from Rode village.

“NSA warrants were issued against Amritpal and were executed today morning. A joint operation was conducted by Amritsar Police and the Punjab Police intelligence wing. He was located in Rode village, based on operational inputs by Punjab Police. The village was surrounded from all sides,” he said.

Gill said that since Amritpal was inside the gurdwara, police waited outside. “To maintain sanctity of the gurdwara, the police did not enter… he knew he could not escape as he was surrounded… Maintaining sanctity was most important… police could not have entered the gurdwara in uniform. He was arrested at about 6:45 am. He was taken to Dibrugarh under NSA, and the law will take its course,” said the IG.

Asked about reports that Amritpal had surrendered and he had delivered an address inside the gurdwara to announce his surrender, the IG said: “It is very clear that we have arrested him. He was arrested after he was surrounded from all sides. It is not appropriate to comment on what happened or what was said inside (the gurdwara).”

In the purported video clip where he says he will surrender, Amritpal seeks to explain the days that he was on the run, saying the past month had exposed the state and its deeds. He says the police could have arrested him from his home. “If I wanted, I could have gone to another country but I am not someone who will desert his people, so I have decided to surrender… I have decided to surrender and this arrest is not an end, it is the beginning,” he says, adding, “I may be an accused in the court but (am) not an accused in the court of Almighty.”

#AmritpalSingh arrested in Moga, Punjab.

Further details will be shared by #PunjabPolice

Urge citizens to maintain peace and harmony, Don’t share any fake news, always verify and share.

— Punjab Police India (@PunjabPoliceInd) April 23, 2023

Ever since he evaded arrest on March 18, taking a U-turn merely 100 metres away from a police checkpost in Kamalke village of Moga district, Amritpal was reported to have been spotted across the state as well as in neighbouring Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. While he was on the run, he released two video messages and an audio message, urging the Akal Takht chief to call a ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ (Conclave of Sikhs) on Baisakhi at Talwandi Sabo to mobilise Sikhs across the globe. The Akal Takht chief did not call the conclave.

Police had launched a crackdown against Amritpal and his outfit, about three weeks after he and his supporters stormed the Ajnala police station near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested colleague. He faces over half-a-dozen criminal cases for alleged offences including attempt to murder, abduction and extortion.