Amid Punjab Police’s chase for arresting Amritpal Singh, Khalistani supporters pull down the national flag outside the Indian High Commission in London.
The Punjab police have undertaken a massive operation for arresting Amritpal Singh, a self-proclaimed preacher who was last seen speeding away on a motorcycle in Jalandhar Saturday evening. Amid Punjab Police’s chase of Amritpal Singh, Khalistani supporters pull down the national flag outside the Indian High Commission in London.The Indian flag flying atop the Indian High Commission was grabbed at by the protesters chanting pro-Khalistani slogans on Sunday, leading to an arrest related to the violent disorder.
The 30-year-old, Amritpal Singh rose in prominence in the past 6-7 months as a separatist leader, Khalistani sympathiser and radical preacher.
The BJP government today appealed to the Sikh bodies to “isolate” Khalistani supporters as the search for Amritpal Singh entered its third day. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the party’s prominent Sikh leader, told reporters that everybody must condemn the London incident in which some Khalistani supporters pulled down the tricolor from the Indian High Commission building in London.
In an interaction with reporters near Nakodar in Jalandhar late Saturday night, Jalandhar Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal had stated, “Amritpal Singh is now a fugitive and we are looking for him and we will soon arrest him.” The reports suggest that Amritpal Singh was using drug rehab centres and a gurdwara to stockpile weapons and was preparing youths to carry out suicide attacks.
The police have arrested 112 associates of Amritpal Singh- 34 of them on Sunday so far. Several members of his ‘Waris Punjab De’ group have been detained for questioning. Among those arrested was Daljeet Singh Kalsi, the man who handles Amritpal Singh’s finances.
A brief account of the life of Amritpal Singh
Born in India, Amritpal studied up to Class 12, and in 2012 left India to work with his uncle’s transport company in Dubai. He came to the notice of Punjab’s politicians and police only six months ago when he has anointed the head of Waris Punjab De, an organisation founded by actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu.
Amritpal supported Deep Sidhu when others vilified him for the Red Fort protests on Republic Day of 2021 during the farmers’ agitation and protests. He has been abiding by the cause of Khalistan for quite some time. Why is it wrong for a Sikh to demand Khalistan if advocacy of a Hindu Rashtra is not punished, he demanded.
There are three cases registered against Amritpal Singh, out of which two are related to hate speech and one is related to kidnapping.
Amritpal once threatened Union home minister Amit Shah also, saying that he will meet the same fate as Indira Gandhi who was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.
Khalistani in London
Amid the crackdown in India, Khalistani sympathisers hit the streets in the United Kingdom in protest. Videos on social media showed protesters climbing the Indian High Commission building in London and taking down the national flag.
British officials have said that the UK government will take the security of the Indian High Commission “seriously”. They also condemned the vandalism by a group of protesters waving separatist Khalistani flags as “disgraceful” and “completely unacceptable.”
Reacting to the incident, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan said he condemned “the violent disorder and vandalism that took place”.
“There is no place in our city for this kind of behaviour,” he tweeted.
I condemn the violent disorder and vandalism that took place at the Indian High Commission today. There is no place in our city for this kind of behaviour.
An investigation has been launched by the Met into today’s events.
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) March 19, 2023
During the ongoing crackdown, several arms and ammunition meant for the so-called Anandpur Khalsa Front (AKF), a creation of Amritpal Singh, were captured. The repression comes a month after Amritpal Singh and his supporters broke into a police station with swords and guns for the release of one of his aides.
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The cops are on the lookout for Amritpal who was last seen escaping away on a motorcycle in Jalandhar Saturday evening. The police seized his car in which firearms and several dozens of live cartridges were found.
The suspension of mobile internet and SMS services have been extended till Tuesday noon. Neighbouring states such as Haryana also remain on high alert.
Sunday’s incident came after similar radical actions by Kahlistani supporters in Canada and Australia.
Khalistan supporters had also organized an unauthorized gathering and blocked entry of the office. Several Hindu temples in Melbourne were vandalized by them in recent months.
India has asked the Australian government to curb the anti-India activities of the Khalistani separatists and also attacks on the Hindu temples in the country.
Sources said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah on March 2 had discussed the plan to arrest Amritpal Singh. So far, the police have arrested a number of associates of Amritpal Singh. Several members of his ‘Waris Punjab De’ group have also been arrested for further probe.
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