Ahead of crackdown, the worry for Centre: Amritpal’s campaign, his private army

It was at this meeting that a detailed plan was prepared to clip Amritpal’s wings and arrest him. To avoid law and order issues following his arrest, the Centre asked the Punjab Police during the meeting to take all his aides after their arrest to jails in either the Northeast states or southern states.

“It was suggested by intelligence agencies to shift all his aides to jails in the Northeast and Southern states to avoid any untoward situation like the Ajnala police station incident in which Amritpal and his supporters stormed the police station to secure the release of an arrested associate. They said all these jails are far from Punjab, and there is less Sikh population,” an officer said.

Sources said Khalsa Vaheer was meant to be a religious procession to be launched from the Akal Takht Sahib in Amritsar. It was supposed to cover entire Punjab over the next few months with an aim to baptize youth into devout Sikhs. The procession, which was to cover 20 km a day, was set to make halts at Jandiala Guru, Baba Bakala Sahib, Khadoor Sahib, Goindwal Sahib, Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala, Kartarpur, Jalandhar, Phagwara, Bahiram, Nawa Shahar, Balachaur, Ropar and reach Anandpur Sahib.

“In reality this march was supposed to include supporters sporting automatic weapons and ammunition and spread Amritpal’s ideas of Khalistan,” said a Punjab Police officer.

“Amritpal has objected to the state government’s decision to review firearms licences, claiming that all five takhts of Sikhism encouraged arms and asserted that this would target Sikhs and leave them without arms. He said same was done by Hilter with Jews. First, they were stripped of their arms then their genocide was executed,” the officer said, adding that this was discussed during the MHA meeting.

A central security establishment officer said the advent of AKF was worrisome in its own self as it was nothing but a private militia being used to threaten people. But of late, its “intolerance towards migrant non-Sikh workers from UP and Bihar in Punjab” had been taken note of with considerable concern.

At the meeting, intelligence officials also informed that Amritpal had gone to Dubai in 2012 to work as a truck driver in his family transport business. Around the time, he also came in contact with Jaswant Singh Rode, brother of Pakistan-based proscribed Khalistani operative Lakhbir Singh Rode, and militant Paramjit Singh Pamma. It is suspected that they put him through to the ISI which offered him money to revive Khalistan sentiments in Punjab.

“Avtar Singh Khanda (UK based SAD/A activist and close associate of Khalistani terrorist Jagtar Singh Tara) is the main handler of Amritpal Singh and brain behind his meteoric rise. Khanda is also close to Pamma and known for holding theoretical radical training classes for Sikh youth,” a security establishment official said.

According to a central dossier, “They have been trying to make improvised explosive devices using common chemicals by giving live demonstration in Birmingham and Glasgow.”

Following his induction, Amritpal was allegedly sent to Georgia for training. It is unclear why Georgia was chosen.

Central agencies have also found links between Waris Punjab De and some funders from Pakistan. They found that part of funds collected for Khalsa Vaheer and Amritpan were being used by Amritpal’s family for personal purposes.

“Amritpal himself, his uncle Harjit Singh and brother Harpreet Singh are involved. Earlier, treasurer Basant Singh Daulatpura had known Pakistani linkages and intelligence agencies have established trail of money from Pakistan to Waris Punjab De. He maintains a large convoy of expensive vehicles without giving any account of the expenditure and source of money. His Mercedes itself is gifted by a drug dealer, Ravel Singh,” a Punjab police officer claimed.

Sources said Amritpal used de-addiction centres started by him for raising a militia, and also stockpiling illegally sourced weapons from Pakistan there.

“Waris Punjab De associates try to inculcate a radical violent way of thinking in the inmates of the drug de-addiction centers. If the inmates did not agree, they were beaten up till they start towing the line,” a central security establishment officer said.

At the meeting, officers of the intelligence agencies also informed that they were probing another angle – an increase in the number of drones carrying drugs from across the border since Amritpal’s arrival in Punjab.