- Wednesday, November 27, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Khalistani separatist leader Amritpal Singh, who has given the police in the northern Indian state of Punjab repeated slips since March 18 when a manhunt was launched to catch him, has reportedly returned to the state and plans to surrender at the iconic Golden Temple, a renowned Sikh spiritual site in Amritsar.
India Today reported this citing sources.
Singh, chief of ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, was said to be travelling to Amritsar through Hoshiarpur in Punjab when the local police were informed about his presence on Tuesday (28). He still managed to escape.
While Amritsar was put on high alert, it was reported that Singh was likely to surrender soon. Police personnel were deployed around the Golden Temple and Akal Takht, another prominent Sikh religious centre.
The police also launched a big search operation in a village in Hoshiarpur and other neighbouring areas on Tuesday after receiving inputs that Singh and his aides could have taken shelter there.
The March 18 manhunt was launched about three weeks after he and his supporters stormed into the Ajnala police station near Amritsar to release one of his arrested aides. He escaped the police by changing vehicles and his appearances. He was however spotted in a number of CCTV visuals.
India also asked neighbouring Nepal to tighten its border so that Singh could not flee to a third country by using its soil.
