Mostly Khalistanis on Amritpal’s hit list: Punjab govt to High Court

According to the state, Amritpal Singh was in contact with anti-social elements, gangsters and Khalistani forces, and was conspiring to murder the 15 individuals named in the alleged list. The NSA order further alleges that during his first two years of detention, Amritpal Singh orchestrated criminal activities from inside jail using the internet.

Punjab Police informed the court that Amritpal Singh’s sympathisers allegedly prepared the list, which includes individuals associated with both pro and anti-Khalistan ideologies. Some of those named are also reportedly under the scanner of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Amritpal Singh was first lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail in 2023 under the NSA, with the grounds citing that his public activities were disturbing law and order in Punjab and that he posed a serious threat to state security. His detention was extended in 2024, citing protests by his supporters demanding his release, which the state said could escalate into a serious security threat.

The second year of his detention witnessed parallel political and criminal developments. Amritpal Singh was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) from Khadoor Sahib in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and later floated a political outfit, Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De). During the same period, he was also booked in the murder case of his former associate, Gurpreet Singh Harinau.

Harinau was shot dead by unidentified assailants on October 9, 2024, and the murder forms the primary basis of the third NSA order issued in 2025.

Rejecting the allegations, Akali Dal (WPD) spokesperson and lawyer Imaan Singh Khara said, “All these allegations are false. Amritpal Singh has no phone. He is in a high-security jail. He can only make calls from the jail superintendent’s landline office phone, and those calls are recorded. He has no internet or phone access in jail.”

“There is no such list. These are stories created by the police to extend the NSA for another year,” Khara added.

According to the NSA order, Varinder Singh, one of the individuals named in the list, is the complainant in the Ajnala kidnapping case against Amritpal Singh, while Sukhpreet Singh is Harinau’s cousin.

Sukhjeet Singh Khosa, described in the order as a Khalistani sympathiser, is stated to be vocal against Amritpal Singh and his activities. Sukhraj Karan Singh of Behbal Kalan, son of Gurjeet Singh who was killed in the 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing, also figures in the list. The NSA order notes Sukhraj’s association with the Sikh militant Jagtar Singh Hawara group and describes him as a founder member of WPD and a member of a 21-member committee.

Another individual, Vikramjit Singh, is described as being vocal against the Khadoor Sahib MP. A Sikh activist sympathetic to pro-Khalistan groups, he had contested elections against Amritpal Singh and secured 1,420 votes.

The list also includes Advocate Parminder Singh, who is not associated with Khalistan but was raided by the NIA earlier in 2025. Bakshish Singh and Palwinder Singh Talwara, described as former Sikh militants still sympathetic to Khalistani ideology, are also named.

Also listed are Pritpal Singh Bargari, a Sikh heroic ballad singer from Faridkot known for songs praising former militants and Sikh history, Advocate Simranjit Singh, an active member of the pro-Khalistan party Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), and WPD members Jagdeep Singh and Hussanpreet Singh.

A social media influencer, Mann Singh Akali, described as being vocal against WPD, also figures in the list. Two NRIs, Harjot Singh, based in the Netherlands, and Sukhpreet Singh, are also stated to be among the 15 individuals allegedly under threat.

During the hearing of his parole petition on Tuesday, Amritpal Singh appeared before the Punjab and Haryana High Court via video conferencing from Dibrugarh Jail, marking the first time an image of him has surfaced publicly since his detention under the NSA in April 2023.