Top Sikh leaders in Punjab are reportedly upset with self-styled Sikh preacher and Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh and his supporters for taking the Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib to a police station as a shield.
Amritpal and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, had broken through barricades and barged into a police station in Ajnala on the outskirts of Amritsar on Thursday, extracting an assurance from the police that his aide and kidnapping case accused Lovepreet Singh would be released.
Amritpal, who heads an organisation called ‘Waris Punjab De’, and his supporters had brought a vehicle carrying a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib for holding “amrit sanchar” (a Sikh ceremony) at the police station.
Punjab Police said the demonstrators had used the holy Guru Granth Sahib as a shield and attacked police personnel, leaving six of them injured. Lovepreet Singh walked out of jail on Friday.
Sources told News18 the Sikh leadership believes taking the holy book to the police station was wrong and appreciated the police’s decision not to use water cannons or resort to lathicharge.
“This attempt suggests Amritpal Singh wanted the Guru Granth Sahib to be involved in the controversy. The arrest of his close aide was a personal fight and taking the Guru Granth Sahib is absolutely wrong and against Sikhism,” sources quoted the religious leaders as saying.
They reportedly said the Khalistan movement is “going into wrong hands and we are started fighting among ourselves”.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, too, criticised Amritpal and his supporters, saying those who took the Sikh holy book to a police station as a shield cannot be called the ‘waris‘ (heir) of Punjab.
ਸ਼ਬਦ ਗੁਰੂ ਸ਼ੀੑ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ ਨੂੰ ਢਾਲ ਬਣਾ ਕੇ ਥਾਣਿਆਂ ਤੱਕ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਜਾਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਕਿਸੇ ਵੀ ਪੱਖ ਤੋਂ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਅਤੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਅਤ ਦੇ “ ਵਾਰਿਸ ” ਅਖਵਾਉਣ ਦੇ ਕਾਬਿਲ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੋ ਸਕਦੇ..— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) February 25, 2023
“Those who take the Guru Granth Sahib to police stations as a shield cannot be called ‘waris’ of Punjab and Punjabiyat in any way,” Mann said in a tweet in Punjabi.
Who is Amritpal Singh?
Dubai-returned Amritpal Singh was last year anointed head of ‘Waris Punjab De’, which was founded by actor and activist Deep Sidhu who died in a road accident in February last year. The event was held at Moga’s Rode, the native village of slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
Earlier, Amritpal Singh worked in his family-owned transport business. He was made the head of the organisation that Sidhu had formed to “protect the rights of Punjab and raise social issues”.
Amritpal Singh, who claims to be a follower of Bhindranwale, has made some controversial speeches during the past few weeks.
Hailing from Jallupur Khera village in Amritsar, he moves around with armed men like slain militant Bhindranwale. Some of his supporters call him “Bhindranwale 2.0”.
The preacher issued a threat to Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently, saying he will meet the same fate as that of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Earlier this month, Amritpal tied the knot with UK-based NRI, Kirandeep Kaur, in a simple ceremony at Jallupur Khera, his native village.
When asked whether he will stay in Amritsar with his NRI wife — as he has been asking youths not to go abroad — Amritpal Singh said his marriage was an example of reverse migration, noting that he and his wife will remain in Punjab.
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