Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet wants Khalistan sympathizer Amritpal Singh to “cooperate with the investigations and surrender to the police". Singh has been on the run since March 18 when the police launched a crackdown against him and elements of ‘Waris Punjab De’ (WPD), an outfit headed by him.
The jathedar has also questioned the capability of police, asking why they have not been able to nab him.
In a video message on Saturday, the jathedar said: “The biggest question in the mind of every Sikh living across the world is how Amritpal could not be arrested despite a big police force in the state?"
Singh said that “if the preacher has already been arrested, the police should say so".
The jathedar has also called a special gathering of around 60 to 70 Sikh organisations, seminaries and Nihang organisations to discuss the situation in Punjab.
No representative of any political party has been invited.
WOMAN HELD FOR SHELTERING AMRITPAL
The Punjab Police has arrested a woman from Patiala for allegedly sheltering Singh and his aide, officials said on Sunday.
According to a senior police official, Singh and his aide Papalpreet Singh had allegedly stayed at the residence of Balbir Kaur in Patiala’s Hargobind Nagar on March 19.
Kaur allegedly sheltered Singh and Papalpreet for five to six hours before they moved to Shahabad in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district, the police said.
ON THE RUN SINCE MARCH 18
The elusive preacher himself gave the police the slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Punjab’s Jalandhar district.
On Saturday, CCTV camera footage purportedly showing Singh, dressed in a jacket and trousers and speaking on a mobile phone, emerged in Patiala.
In the footage, the ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief could also be seen holding a bag with a white cloth covering his face. Papalpreet could also be seen in the footage.
In a second footage from the same spot, a sunglass-wearing Singh could be seen speaking on the phone while walking on the street.
THE ARRESTS
Kaur is the second woman to be arrested for allegedly sheltering Amritpal. Earlier, a woman identified as Baljit Kaur was nabbed for allegedly harbouring Singh and Papalpreet at her home in Shahabad.
The police in Khanna also arrested on Saturday a man identified as Balwant Singh for allegedly sheltering Amritpal’s associate Tejinder Singh Gill alias Gorkha Baba.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Payal) Harsimrat Singh said Balwant Singh, a resident of Khuli Khurd village, has been booked under Section 212 (harbouring offender) of the Indian Penal Code.
Gill, who was part of Amritpal’s private security setup, was arrested on Wednesday. He was sent on police remand till March 27.
The Punjab Police had said a phone recovered from Gill contained pictures of the flag, emblem and currency of Khalistan and videos of firearms practice by young men allegedly chosen for the radical preacher’s Anandpur Khalistan Fauz.
The incriminating material showed the sinister designs of the nascent militia force and the enormous threat it would have posed for peace and harmony in Punjab and national security, the police had said.
With the Khalistan sympathiser continuing to remain untraceable, the police said efforts are underway to nab the fugitive.
With PTI Inputs
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