Punjab Police to transport 7 accomplices of Amritpal Singh from Assam

Pro-Khalistan radical preacher Amritpal Singh's seven accomplices, who were released from Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam following the withdrawal of NSA charges against them and re-arrested in another case by Punjab Police, will be flown to the northern state on Thursday, officials said.

Punjab Police re-arrested them for attacking a police station on the outskirts of Amritsar in 2023 and got a transit remand from a local court here.

"All seven detainees will be flown to Punjab under tight security. Punjab Police has secured their transit remand and are now completing the legal transfer process from Dibrugarh Central Jail," a senior official told PTI.

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

"They will be taken to Punjab on two different commercial flights. Three of them have already been brought to Mohanbari Airport here for their onward journey by an IndiGo flight, scheduled to depart shortly," the official said.

The remaining four will also be sent on a different flight later in the day, he added.

The seven are Kulwant Singh, Harjeet Singh, Gurinder Pal Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Bhagwant Singh alias Pradhan Mantri Bajeke, Daljit Singh Kalsi and Basant Singh.

All of them were released from Dibrugarh Central Jail in batches during the last three days as their detention period in the National Security Act (NSA) expired.

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

The Punjab Police team, led by SP Harinder Singh Gill, was engaged in completing the legal formalities in Dibrugarh, to proceed with the transfer.

The remaining three detainees, including Amritpal Singh, are also likely to be transferred by mid-2025, the official said.

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, 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.

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 reinvoke the NSA at the end of their detention period, DGP Gaurav Yadav had said on Sunday.

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

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