• Source:JND
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THE PUNJAB police launched a massive crackdown on Khalistan supporters and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh on Saturday. His cavalcade was stopped by the police at Mehatpur in Jalandhar. Following that, six of his close associates were also detained. However, Punjab police have remained tight-lipped over the crackdown, and no official confirmation has been issued by the police department so far. The news agency PTI states that the radical leader managed to escape from the spot.

Amid the ongoing police crackdown, the Punjab home affairs department has also suspended internet services across the state till Sunday at 12 noon to avoid any untoward incidents during police action.

"All mobile internet services, all SMS services (except banking and mobile recharge) & all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice call, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab shall be suspended from 18th March (12:00 hours) to 19th March (12:00 hours) in the interest of public safety," Dept of Home Affairs and Justice, Govt of Punjab said in a statement.

Who is Amritpal Singh?

Amritpal Singh is the head of 'Waris Punjab De', a Punjab-based group founded by activist Deep Sidhu, who died in a road accident in February 2022. Born in 1993, he is the second leader of the Punjabi-centric social organisation, Waris Panjab De. Soon after the demise of Deep Sidhu, the founder of Waris Punjab De, he became chief of the organisation.

According to several media reports, he has been part of many controversies. In October 2022, the activists of the Punjab Christian Movement (PCM) staged a protest against Singh for allegedly making objectionable remarks about Jesus Christ. Despite being involved in a large number of controversies, Singh has a large number of youth followers who are alluded by his messages.

(Disclaimer: The initial news had information about the arrest, which has been updated later. The facts of the news have been updated based on the latest information. Jagran English fully abides by its commitment to provide accurate and timely news to the readers.)

Why is Amritpal Singh facing arrest?

Amritpal Pal Singh first hit the national headlines after he, along with his friends, launched a protest and barged into the Ajnala Police Station on the outskirts of the Amritsar city and attacked cops, demanding the release of one of his aides Lovepreet Singh alias Toofan. Six policemen, including a Superintendent of Police rank officer, suffered injuries.

He had earlier issued a warning to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. "Amit Shah had said that he won't let the Khalistan movement rise. I had said that the same was done by Indira Gandhi and if you do the same then you'd have to face consequences. If the home minister says the same to those demanding 'Hindu Rashtra', then I will see if he remains home minister," Amritpal Singh said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

He dresses up like Bhindranwale, who was killed during Operation Bluestar. He is called 'Bhindranwale 2.0' by his supporters. He has also called Bhindranwale his inspiration.

Singh is facing many charges against him that include kidnapping, theft, and voluntarily causing hurt and faces potential arrest.