After 36 days of the cat-and-mouse chase spread over several states, Punjab Police arrested Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh was on Sunday from the native village of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in the Indian Army's Operation Blue Star in 1984. As per police, Amritpal Singh was arrested from Rode village in Moga district. He was shifted to Dibrugarh jail in Assam as the National Security Act (NSA) has been invoked against him.
Law enforcement agencies can keep him in detention for over 12 months. Taking to Twitter, Punjab Police said: "Amritpal Singh arrested in Moga, Punjab. Further details will be shared by Punjab Police...Urge citizens to maintain peace and harmony. Don't share any fake news, always verify and share."
The 30-year-old Waris Punjab De chief had been on the run after evading arrest on March 18. He shot to prominence in February after an armed mob led by him clashed with police and laid siege to a police station near Amritsar, demanding the release of one of their colleagues who had been taken into custody in an alleged kidnapping case. Six policemen were injured in the bloody clash.
Regarding his arrest, some media reports claimed that the fugitive reached the native village of Bhindranwale on Saturday night and surrendered before the police in the morning.
A video, viral on the social media, purportedly shown Amritpal Singh addressing from a Sikh shrine and saying last one month "exposed" the real face of the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government. "I may be an accused in the court but not an accused in the court of Almighty," he said.
Bhindranwale's nephew Jasvir Rode told the media that Amritpal Singh had informed police last night itself that he will surrender Sunday morning after paying obeisance at the Gurdwara Janam Asthan Sant Khalsa. He surrendered around 7 a.m.
In September last year, Amritpal Singh's dastar bandi (turban tying) ceremony was held at Rode village, marking his official installation as the head of Waris Punjab De. Three days before his arrest, Amritpal Singh's Britain-origin wife Kirandeep Kaur was stopped at the Amritsar airport and not allowed by immigration officials to board a flight to Birmingham. After questioning, Kaur has been sent to her home in Jallupur Khera in Amritsar district and asked her not to leave the country without informing the police.