Punjab Police arrests 7 aides of Amritpal Singh after release from Assam

Pro-Khalistan radical preacher Amritpal Singh's seven aides were released from the Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam after the expiry of their NSA remand but were arrested again by the Punjab Police in a different case, officials said here on Wednesday.

A 25-member team of the Punjab Police has been in Assam's Dibrugarh for the past several days to facilitate the transfer of Singh's seven accomplices, who have been imprisoned along with the Waris Punjab De (WPD) leader here for nearly two years.

"Today, Kulwant Singh, Harjeet Singh and Gurinder Pal Singh were released as their detention period in the National Security Act (NSA) has expired," a senior official told PTI here.

Following their release, the Punjab Police arrested them again and presented them before a court in Dibrugarh and sought transit remand, he added.

In the last two days, four others were released from the Dibrugarh jail and arrested again in the same case.

"All of them were produced before the court and have been placed under transit remand to Punjab," the official said.

The four others are Gurmeet Singh, Bhagwant Singh alias Pradhan Mantri Bajeke, Daljit Singh Kalsi and Basant Singh.

"With all seven now released, the legal process to transfer them to Punjab is in its final phase. The remaining three , including Amritpal Singh, are also likely to be transferred by mid-2025," the official said.

The Punjab Police team, led by Superintendent of Police Harinder Singh Gill, was engaged in completing the legal formalities in Dibrugarh, a town in eastern Assam, to proceed with the transfer, he added.

Ten members of the pro-Khalistani outfit, including Amritpal who is now an Independent MP, and one of his uncles, have been housed in the Dibrugarh central jail since March 2023 after they were arrested under the NSA from different parts of Punjab following a crackdown on the outfit.

In 2024, all of their detention period under the NSA was extended by a year.

Amritpal Singh along with Papalpreet Singh and Varinder Singh Johal will continue to be held under NSA here, with their detention scheduled to expire in June 2025.

The radical preacher had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as an Independent candidate and won from the Khadoor Sahib seat in Punjab.

His seven aides are being taken back after the Punjab government decided not to invoke the NSA again at the end of their detention period, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav had said on Sunday.

They would be formally arrested in the 2023 Ajnala police station attack incident and would face trial, he had added.

Amritpal and his associates were booked on charges of spreading disharmony among classes, attempting to murder, attacking police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.