A video of pro-Khalistani leader and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh's has surfaced on social media in which he slams Punjab Police for arresting Sikh youths during crackdown.
Wearing a black turban and shawl in the video, Amritpal Singh can be heard saying"If Punjab govt had intention of arresting me, police could have come to my house and I would have given in".
"The Almighty saved us from the attempt of 'lakhs of cops' who were sent to make an arrest," he further said.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police launched a massive search operation in a Hoshiarpur village and many adjoining areas following inputs that the radical preacher and his aides could be hiding there.
A team of the counterintelligence wing of the Punjab Police Tuesday evening chased a car from Phagwara after it suspected that fugitive Amritpal and his aides could be in that vehicle, reported PTI.
However, the suspects abandoned their vehicle near Gurdwara Bhai Chanchal Singh in Marnaian village and fled.
Amritpal Singh remains untraceable since a police crackdown against him and members of his pro-Khalistan 'Waris Punjab De' outfit on March 18, about three weeks after he and his supporters stormed into the Ajnala police station near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested man.
The Khalistani leader and his associates have been booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants, reported PTI.
The Punjab Police has been on high alert after the pro-Khalistan radical preacher escaped its dragnet.
Fearing Amritpal Singh could cross the Indian border and enter Nepal, the Indian Embassy had earlier requested Nepal government of Immigration to not allow the fugitive radical preacher to flee to a third country and arrest him if he attempts to escape using an Indian passport or any other fake passport.