Amritpal Brought To Dibrugarh Jail After Arrest, Punjab CM Says 'Did Not Want Bloodshed' — Top Developments

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann has reacted to the arrest of separatist leader Amritpal Singh saying that action will be taken against those who disrupt country's peace.

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann reacts to Amritpal's arrest.

Source : PTI

Amritpal Arrested: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann has reacted to the arrest of separatist leader Amritpal Singh. The Chief Minister said that after 35 days, Amritpal Singh has been arrested. He said that action will be taken against those who try to disrupt the country's peace and law. Mann added that his government will not disturb any innocent person and that they don't do vendetta politics. Mann said that if the government had wished, people who escaped on March 18, could have been arrested but 'we did not want any bloodshed'.

'आप' सरकार जनता की सुरक्षा और अमन कानून के लिए काम कर रही है और यह हमारी ज़िम्मेदारी व फर्ज़ भी है... @ArvindKejriwal pic.twitter.com/oOB9eKVlzt

— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) April 23, 2023

Here Are Top Developments So Far 

Amritpal’s Arrest 

1. Fugitive Amritpal Singh was arrested on Sunday in Punjab's Moga, state police informed. The Waris Punjab De chief was arrested in Rode village after police personnel surrounded him, leaving him with no way to escape, a senior Punjab Police official said, as quoted by PTI 
2. To maintain sanctity, the police did not enter the gurdwara and since he knew that he had no way to escape now, he was surrounded by Punjab Police. 
3. Amritpal was arrested under NSA in a Joint operation with Intelligence Wing. Speaking to the reporters, Sukhchain Gill, IG Punjab said that Amritpal was arrested after concrete information and the village was surrounded by police. 
4. Slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale hailed from Rode village and Amritpal Singh was last year anointed the head of 'Waris Punjab De' outfit at an event held in this village. 
5. According to sources, the Punjab Police have been making plans for his detainment since late Saturday night. 
6. A video later surfaced that showed him addressing a gathering in a gurudwara before surrendering in Moga's Rode village. 
7. Singh Sahib Giani Jasbir Singh Rode, at Rodewal Gurdawara in Moga, told news agency ANI that Amritpal Singh came here to Gurdwara last night and he told that he will surrender to the police after paying obeisance in the Gurdwara. 
8. Amritpal changed his attire and went to the Gurdwara to address a gathering. "He was arrested at exactly 7 AM today, the arrest did not take place under duress," the priest said. 
9. After his arrest, Punjab police said Amritpal Singh was arrested under NSA. Sukhchain Gill,  said that no mischievous elements will be tolerated.  
10. Sukhchain Gill, IG Punjab said, "Amritpal Singh has been arrested by Punjab Police at around 6.45 am today morning in village Rode. A joint operation was conducted by Amritsar Police & Intelligence Wing of Punjab Police. He was located in village Rode based on operational inputs by Punjab Police. To maintain sanctity, the Police didn't enter Gurudwara Sahib. He has been taken to Dibrugarh under NSA," as quoted by the news agency ANI. 
11. According to ABP News sources, six cases have been registered against Amritpal, for remarks against PM Modi, then CM Mann, Ajnala and more. 
12. Amritpal Singh was taken to the Assam’s high-security Dibrugarh jail via Bathinda Air Force Station from a special India Air Force (IAF) aircraft at around 12:40 PM.  
13. Amritpal Singh would be put in the Dibrugarh Central Jail amid tight security where nine other members, including his close aide Papalpreet Singh and Uncle Harjeet Singh, of his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’, are currently lodged.  
14. Other than Papalpreet Singh and Harjeet Singh, seven other members of the outfit, who are lodged at the Dibrugarh Central Jail, are Daljeet Kalsi, Basant Singh, Gurmeet Singh Bhukhanwala, Bhagwant Singh, Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, Gurinder Pal Singh, and Varinder Singh.  
15. Meanwhile, Police took out a flag march in Bathinda city. Gurvinder Singh, SP Bathinda said, "Earlier also we have been taking out flag marches. The situation is normal and peaceful. Police is determined to maintain law and order. We are reaching every nook and corner of the city." 

Reactions To Arrest 

1. AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora spoke to ABP LIVE about the arrest and said: "Kudos to Punjab Police. Thanks to central agencies for cooperating and helping maintain law and order in the state. Now Law will take its own course. I doubt he has any real following. Anything shown is just stage-managed." 
2. Union Minister Anurahg Thakur said, "Strict action must be taken against those who spread terror and fear. Punjab (Police) took a little longer, it would have been better had this (Amritpal Singh's arrest) happened a little sooner." 
3. Soon after the arrest, AAP MP Sanjay Singh lauded the Bhagwant Mann government saying that the way Amritpal Singh has been arrested shows the Punjab government's maturity in handling the case. Speaking to ABP News, he stressed that the people of Punjab will not tolerate misuse of Guru Granth Sahib, referring to the Ajnala incident.
4. "If the police had worked properly, this arrest would have happened earlier. There was no need of all this drama. Now the arrest happened peacefully, did anything happen in Punjab?" says SAD leader Daljeet Singh Cheema.
5. "The (Punjab) government handled this sensitively. No violence was reported. This is a very big achievement for Punjab Police," says AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj.
6. All this (Amritpal Singh's arrest) was very well orchestrated and choreographed by his masters sitting abroad. Somebody was not only sheltering him, but also giving him all sorts of support, including money," says former Punjab DGP Shashi Kant. 
7. Congress reacted to the arrest of Amritpal Singh. Party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala posed six questions to the Centre and the state government on the entire matter. He asked: 

• Who helped the anti-India propagandist and supporter of terrorists, Amritpal Singh escape in the first instance? 
• Where was Amritpal hidden in all these days? 
• Who gave him shelter and where did he stay- are all these forces not anti-India? Who are the accomplices of Amritpal and why NIA, CBI and Punjab police are not disclosing the details? 
• Which foreign powers in Pakistan or elsewhere are supporting him and why is the government not coming out in the open with it? What action will it take? 
• Who are the co-conspirators of Amritpal operating from inside and outside India? What action will the government take? 
• Does Amritpal have a connection with somebody in the Centre or the state government?"

 

 What Amritpal’s Family Said 

1. Amritpal’s mother Balwinder Kaur said, "We saw the news and came to know that he has surrendered. I felt proud that he surrendered like a warrior...We will fight a legal battle and we will also go & meet him at the earliest...Why has the NSA been invoked against his aides, they didn't do any wrong, everyone knows. Waheguru saved him for 36 days, he will continue to protect him." 
2. His uncle, Sukhchain Singh, said, “Police asked me whether we know, I said yes we know. He said he was not aware of the instruction that Amritpal’s wife Kirandeep Kaur has been asked not to leave the country. Singh said that he will go to courts to fight the legal battle. 
3. Tarsem Singh, father of Waris Punjab De's Amritpal Singh, said, "...Through TV we came to know that he surrendered before the Police. We too wanted the same because people were being harassed due to him...We will fight the case, the entire community should fight it, he was working to save people from the drug menace; an offer has been made to us for it..."