Radical preacher Amritpal Singh has been on the run because the Punjab Police launched a crackdown on his Waris Punjab De outfit on March 18. (Screengrab by way of PTI)
Jaswinder Singh Pangli’s arrest was linked to the crackdown by the Punjab police which started on March 18 in Jalandhar towards Amritpal Singh and his ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit
The Punjab Police have seized “essential proof” against fugitive Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh and arrested an NRI in connection to the probe into the radical preacher’s escape from Hoshiarpur, reports said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Jaswinder Singh Pangli is believed to be a resident of Jagatpur Jatta village near Phagwara, according to a report by India Today.
Pangli’s arrest was linked to the crackdown by the Punjab police which began on March 18 in Jalandhar against the Waris Punjab De outfit. The pro-Khalistan leader escaped by switching vehicles and changing appearances multiple times. Amritpal and his close associate and mentor Papalpreet Singh have been spotted in various locations in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Delhi.
According to police, Hoshiarpur has been under police radar as Singh was last traced to Maranaia village in the district on March 28.
As per the report, the arrest of the NRI is the first one made by Punjab Police after Amritpal’s escape from Maranaia village. It also stated that the police have arrested several other individuals in connection with this case and are conducting a comprehensive investigation.
It is also reported that this case is being linked to a drug-related gathering that took place in Jagatpur Jatta village, and whoever was present at that gathering is being questioned by the police.
Interestingly, the regions Phagwara and Hoshiarpur have emerged in several recent arrests related to cases linked to the absconding pro-Khalistan leader.
Upon investigation into Amritpal’s whereabouts, police officials on Tuesday said CCTV footage of the Mohanpur Gurdwara in the Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh up to the evening of March 25 were “missing”.
On March 30, Joga Singh, who was a kar-sevak on the gurdwara, was arrested following the invention of an deserted car close to Phagwara on March 28. The police had already arrested the driving force of the car, Gurwant Singh.
Meanwhile, the Punjab police have cancelled the Baisakhi vacation this yr as leaves of all officers have been cancelled until April 14 as a consequence of considerations over regulation and order scenario within the wave of the crackdown towards Amritpal Singh.
The measures had been introduced after Singh, in a video message, requested the chiefs of the highest Sikh physique, Akal Takht, to convene the ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ in Punjab’s Bathinda on the event of Baisakhi on April 14.
Several legal circumstances have been registered towards Singh and his accomplices for offenses together with spreading disharmony amongst lessons, try to homicide, assault on police personnel and creating obstructions within the lawful discharge of responsibility by public servants.
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