‘Sikh preacher’ Amritpal Singh briefly put under house arrest

Police sources said the pre-emptive action was taken looking at the law and order situation in the state following Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri's murder outside a temple in Amritsar on Friday.

Amritpal is the chief of ‘Waris Punjab De’, an organisation formed by actor Deep Sidhu before his death in February. (Representational/File)

Written by: Raakhi Jagga

4 min readLudhianaNov 6, 2022 08:18 AM IST First published on: Nov 6, 2022 at 03:58 AM IST

Self-proclaimed Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh was briefly placed under house arrest by police at Singhawala village in Moga on Saturday evening.

Police sources said the pre-emptive action was taken looking at the law and order situation in the state following Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri’s murder outside a temple in Amritsar on Friday.

Following the murder of Suri, Hindu organisations and family of the Shiv Sena leader have been demanding the arrest of Amritpal as the vehicle of the key accused in Suri’s murder – Sandeep Singh Sunny – allegedly had a sticker of ‘Waris Punjab De’.

Amritpal is the chief of ‘Waris Punjab De’, an organisation formed by actor-activist Deep Sidhu before his death in an alleged accident in February 2022.

On Saturday, Amritpal was planning a visit to Gurdwara Nauvi Patshahi, Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar, Jalandhar, to participate in Nagar Kirtan ahead of Gurpurab to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev when police put him under house arrest. Heavy police force was deployed outside the house and at Singhawala village.
But, late in the evening, Amritpal was allowed to go to Gurdwara Baba Sewa Singh adjoining to the house where he was placed under arrest.

Addressing the ‘sangat’ which came out in his support at the gurdwara, Amritpal said, “I appeal to everyone to stay calm and maintain peace. We will decide our next course of action soon. This is not the right time. However, we are warning the administration not to test our patience.”

He added, “By a mere sticker on a car or a picture … can one determine involvement of someone in the murder? Is there anything called investigation? Except for Suri’s family, no Hindu has demanded to arrest me or to file an FIR against me. If cops check the Facebook page of Suri, they can make out ‘the kind of things he (Suri) used to speak’… An open threat by Suri’s son to the Sikhs … Is it justified?” Amritpal said, “The administration is stopping us from being part of Nagar Kirtan … Is this justified? How can a Nagar Kirtan disturb law and order? We could have easily marched towards Jalandhar, but decided against it as we don’t want to get involved in any conflict. Our next course of action will be decided after holding a meeting with the ‘sangat’.”

Meanwhile, police also detained a few Shiv Sena workers in Bathinda as they were marching towards Amritsar.

Shiv Sena leaders in Ludhiana were also demanding strict action against perpetrators of the horrific crime (Suri’s killing). Heavy police force was deployed near Clock Tower area and many other locations of Ludhiana on Saturday to prevent any untoward incident. There has been a demand from Hindu organisations to nominate Amritpal in the Suri murder case.

Pappalpreet Singh, a supporter of Amritpal, posted on social media that the house arrest was against democratic rights of a person. Supporters of Amritpal blocked a road in Jalandhar to protest his house arrest.

Moga SSP Gulneet Singh Chahal could not be reached for his comments. Apart from gathering in Moga and Jalandhar, supporters of Amritpal also blocked NH-54 near Behbal Kalan Village in Faridkot to protest his house arrest.

Behbal Kalan Insaaf Morcha supporters have been sitting on a ‘pakka dharna’ in Behbal Kalan village since December 16 last year and the same has now been shifted to the national highway.