The Punjab and Haryana High Court today criticized the Punjab police and ordered them to submit a report on the activity against Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh.
“You have 80,000 policemen. What are they doing. How did Amritpal Singh escape?”, the Supreme Court asked the Punjab government. The court commented that this was an intelligence error by the state police.
The court’s comments come as the Punjab Police take action against the Khalistan leader and members of his ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit.
Punjab police told the court they had launched a major crackdown against Amritpal Singh on Saturday and had arrested 120 of his supporters.
However, the elusive preacher slipped past the police and escaped their nets when his cavalry was blocked in Jalandhar district. Amritpal Singh, whom the government describes as a Khalistani-Pakistani agent, was last seen riding off on a motorcycle Saturday night in Jalandhar.
Singh has been active in Punjab for the past few years and is often accompanied by armed supporters. He claims to be a follower of separatist and terrorist Khalistani Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and is called “Bhindranwale 2.0” by his supporters.
The crackdown comes a month after Amritpal Singh and his supporters stormed the police station with swords and guns to demand the release of one of his aides. Six police officials were injured in the clash.
