The Punjab Police have arrested a 30-year-old woman from Haryana for allegedly sheltering Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh, who has been absconding since March 18.
The police crackdown on Singh started days after he and his supporters stormed a police station in Amritsar on February 23 following the arrest of one of the preacher’s aides for alleged assault and attempted kidnapping.
On Thursday evening, the police identified the woman from Haryana as Baljeet Kaur and alleged that she provided shelter to Amritpal Singh and his aide Pappalpreet Singh at her home in the state’s Kurukshetra district on March 19.
Kaur is said to have told investigators that the duo spoke to her about their plans to move to Uttarakhand next, The Times of India reported.
Inspector General (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill alleged that the woman was in touch with Pappalpreet Singh for the last two-and-a-half years, according to The Indian Express. Pappalpreet Singh was last seen along with Amritpal Singh in close-circuit television footage on a three-wheeler in Jalandhar district’s Darapur village.
The police on Thursday released new CCTV footage that purportedly showed Amritpal Singh and Pappalpreet Singh near Kaur’s home on March 20, with the former holding an umbrella.
Gill said that it was not known what means of transport Amritpal Singh used to travel to Haryana. He said that the Khalistan sympathiser’s last known location in Punjab was near an amusement park on the Jalandhar-Ludhiana road named Hardy’s World at 9.40 am on March 18.
Earlier on Thursday, the police claimed that Amritpal Singh used five different vehicles in 12 hours to evade arrest.
A total of 207 persons have been arrested as part of the crackdown on Amritpal Singh’s organisation Waris Punjab De. The police said that out of these, 30 have been found to have been involved in substantive criminal activities.
The police said that the remaining 177 persons are in preventive custody and may be released after thorough screening.
Amritpal Singh has garnered a significant following through his speeches that often focus on Punjab’s youth and religion. He has also given several interviews supporting demands for Khalistan, an independent state for Sikhs.
The police have registered a case against him on various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 148 (rioting) and also under the Arms Act at Shahkot police station in Jalandhar.
Amritpal Singh and his associates have also been booked for storming the police station in Amritsar as well as in connection with weapons recovered from an abandoned vehicle.
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