Team News Riveting
Chandigarh, March 20
Absconding Khalistan sympathiser and ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh may face action under stringent National Security Act after his arrest.
The police had launched a massive hunt to nab Amritpal. The security forces carried out a late-night operation to arrest Amritpal but he managed to escape minutes before the police reached his hideout. However, Amritpal’s personal driver Harpreet was nabbed from the spot.
Harpreet was not only Amritpal’s personal driver but also a close friend and confidant who used to live with him. The police have also arrested Amritpal’s uncle Harjit Pal Singh.
In all, police have arrested 114 persons so far in connection with the March 18 onward crackdown on Khalistani activists, said Punjab Police spokesperson and Inspector General Sukchain Singh.
In a major action, National Security Act (NSA) has been invoked on the five arrested persons including Amritpal’s uncle Harjit Singh. The IG said Amritpal was also likely to be booked under the NSA after his arrest.
Introduced in India on September 23, 1980 by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, the NSA empowers the state and central governments to detain any individual suspected or found to be a threat to national security. It can also keep them in jail for as long as 12 months even without any charges.
The various reasons for which a person can be booked under this law include acting against the security and welfare of the nation, damaging the country’s foreign relations, and obstructing the supply of essential services to the community.
IG Gill said NSA detainees were not required to be presented in a court of law for remand. “The position of these detainees would be reassessed after three weeks,” he said.
“We have strong suspicion of involvement of Pakistan’s ISI besides foreign funding. The accused were using hawala channels also. We have evidence that the accused were forming ‘Anandpur Khalsa Fauj’ (AKF),” the IG said.
He said six FIRs have been lodged so far against Amritpal and his associates. These include causing disharmony and obstruction in police working and attack on police, besides possessing illegal weapons. Police have also found a walkie-talkie set from one of the vehicles used by Amritpal, the IG said.
