Fugitive preacher Amritpal Singh arrested in Punjab's Moga, to be lodged in Dibrugarh jail

Pro-Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh was arrested by Punjab police in the early hours of Sunday, ending a protracted manhunt for the fugitive leader.

The Waris Punjab De chief is being shifted to Assam's Dibrugarh, where nine of Amritpal's aides — Daljit Singh Kalsi, Papalpreet Singh, Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, Varinder Singh Johal, Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwala, Harjit Singh, Bhagwant Singh, Basant Singh and Gurinderpal Singh Aujla — are lodged and have been charged under the stringent National Security Act.

As per the police, Amritpal Singh was arrested from Rode village in Moga district.


In a tweet, Punjab Police said Amritpal Singh has been arrested in Moga and urged citizens to maintain peace and harmony.

"Don't share any fake news, always verify and share," it said in the tweet. He was learnt to have been taken to Bathinda from where he will be flown to Assam.

In a video that surfaced on social media, Amritpal Singh addressed a gathering at a gurdwara in Rode village in Moga, and says he was "surrendering". “It is the birth place of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. This is the place where my 'dastar bandi' (turban tying) ceremony was held. We are standing at life's critical juncture. During the past one month whatever took place, you have seen that all,” he said in the video.

Attempts to nab Singh have been ongoing for over a month, with the cops recently detaining his wife, Kirandeep Kaur, at the Sri Guru Ram Dass International Airport in Amritsar. Kaur was held by immigration officials while she was trying to board a flight to London on April 20.

“A month back, 'excesses' were unleashed by the government against Sikhs. Had it been only the question of (my) arrest, then perhaps there were many ways of arrest and with which, I would have cooperated,” he could be heard saying in the video.

“In the court of Almighty, I am not guilty but I could be guilty in the worldly court,” he adds. In the video, Amritpal Singh is heard saying that the “bunch of lies” created against him will be demolished by the Almighty.

The crackdown against Amritpal Singh and his outfit - Waris Punjab De - has been on since March 18, with the preacher escaping the manhunt twice, once on March 18 in the Jalandhar district and then on March 28 in Hoshiarpur.