Nepal has added fugitive radical preacher Amritpal Singh to its surveillance list at the request of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, according to officials. The embassy urged Nepal to prevent Singh from fleeing to a third country and to arrest him if he attempts to escape using an Indian passport or any other fake passport.
Singh, who is believed to be in hiding in Nepal, is suspected of being a member of a separatist group and is said to possess multiple passports with different identities. He has been on the run since March 18th, when the police began pursuing him. Singh managed to escape police capture when his cavalcade was intercepted in Punjab's Jalandhar district.
Kamal Prasad Pandey, the Information Officer at the Department of Immigration, confirmed that the embassy had sent a written note along with a copy of Singh's passport. The department has since placed Singh on its surveillance list.
"We have received a written note along with a copy of his passport from the (Indian) embassy suspecting that Amritpal Singh might have entered Nepal. The Indian Embassy has sent the note asking the Department to put Singh, a member of a separatist group, on the surveillance list," Kamal Prasad Pandey told PTI.
The Home Ministry has directed all security agencies to be on high alert in the Nepal-India border area at the request of Indian security officials.
The Nepal-India border area has been kept on 'high alert' for two days. Police in plain clothes have reportedly increased their vigilance in the border area as Singh could enter the country from Kapilvastu in Western Nepal.
Singh's details and the embassy's letter have been circulated to all concerned agencies, including hotels and airlines, according to a report by the Kathmandu Post newspaper. There has been no immediate confirmation about the letter from the Indian mission in Nepal.