Massive Punjab Op To Catch Khalistani Leader Amritpal Singh, Last Seen Fleeing On Bike

Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh is on the run from the Punjab Police, who are trying to arrest him, sources have said. At least 78 people have been arrested and some have been detained for questioning, the police said. Daljeet Singh Kalsi, who handles finance for Amritpal Singh, has been arrested in Haryana's Gurgaon by the Punjab Police.

A special team of the state police, comprising personnel from seven districts, had followed the Khalistani leader's convoy while he was on his way to Jalandhar's Shahkot tehsil. Sources said he was last seen speeding away on a motorcycle.

Internet has been snapped across Punjab till 12 pm Sunday as Amritpal Singh's aides started circulating frantic videos appealing to supporters to reach Shahkot.

Anticipating disturbance, a large contingent of police has been deployed outside Amritpal Singh's village, Jallupur Khaira, in Amritsar district. Sources said police and paramilitary forces have sealed the village.

Sources said the state government waited for the G20 event to get over to initiate action against him.

Amritpal Singh leads "Waris Punjab De", a radical organisation started by actor and activist Deep Sidhu, who died in a road accident in February last year.

The police closed all roads and set up huge barricades in Shahkot as they had prior information of Amritpal Singh's visit. The Khalistani leader, who has been active in Punjab for a few years, is often seen escorted by armed supporters.

Amritpal Singh was at the centre of a massive protest on February 24 against the arrest of his key aide, kidnapping accused Lovepreet Singh. His supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into a police station in Ajnala on the outskirts of the Amritsar city, extracting an assurance from the police that Lovepreet Singh would be released. He had later blamed the Punjab Police for the violence.

Six police personnel, including a Superintendent of Police rank officer, were injured during the clash. The police have not yet revealed whether an FIR was lodged against Amritpal Singh for the violence.

Reacting to the police action on Saturday, Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu said the man who "used to talk about taking up arms for Khalistan is today running away fearing the police".

"Does a Sikh ever run away? He would have faced the police if he had courage. He is running around in the streets like a gidad (jackal). I used to say earlier, too, that he has come to get our children killed. He is a man of (intelligence) agencies," he said.

Facing heat from the opposition parties in the state, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had recently said his government was committed to maintaining law and order in the state, and no one would be allowed to disturb the hard-earned peace.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur had earlier this month attacked the AAP government in Punjab, saying law and order "collapsed" in the state after the formation of "one government", and suggested it "wakes up" and takes some steps.