Vocal Sikh activist Amritpal Singh declared fugitive, Sikh orgs condemn draconian Punjab security operations

0
2618

By Asia Samachar | Panjab, India |

Vocal upstart Sikh activist Amritpal Singh has apparently evaded arrest despite a massive manhunt by the Punjab authorities on Saturday. In the confusion, some media had earlier reported that Amritpal had been arrested by the Punjab police, with videos surfacing on the social media of the supposed arrest.

“He is now a fugitive and we are looking for him and we will soon arrest him,” Jalandhar Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal told reporters near Nakodar in Jalandhar late on Saturday night, according to a PTI report.

Police on Saturday launched a “massive state-wide cordon and search operations (CASO)” in the state against the Waris Punjab De (Heirs of Punjab) members, the group headed by Amritpal, with 78 persons having been arrested so far, while several others have been detained for questioning, according to the same report.

The authorities have also announced the mass suspension of internet services across Punjab until 12pm Sunday citing a threat to “public order by incitement to violence”.

In a response to the developments, Ottawa-based the World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) has condemned the security operations, raising fears of the extrajudicial killings of Sikh activists in the guise of ‘fake encounters’ in the current circumstances.

In addition to the mass arrests of associates of Amritpal and other Sikh activists, WSO statement said section 144 of the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure has also been invoked in multiple areas in Punjab. The colonial-era law prohibits the gathering of four or more people and those found in violation of the order can be charged with rioting.

It noted that Amritpal has recently come to prominence in Punjab with his successful campaign to inspire Punjabi youth to reject drugs and embrace the Sikh faith, adding that he has also been open and unapologetic in his support for Khalistan, a sovereign Sikh state, as well as highlighting discrimination against the Sikh community in India.

““The suspension of the internet in Punjab along with deployment of paramilitary forces to arrest Bhai Amritpal Singh and other Sikh activists is deeply disturbing. State-wide blackouts have been a tool of genocide and were used in 1984 to facilitate the mass killing of Sikhs by the Indian state. The Indian state has once again demonstrated that it is willing to suspend civil liberties arbitrarily, without justification, using colonial-era laws. Today’s extreme and oppressive measures appear to have clear political motivations to silence Bhai Amritpal Singh and intimidate his supporters into silence,” WSO president Tejinder Singh Sidhu said in the statement.

The statement added that Amritpal’s village, Jallupur Khera in Baba Bakala District of Amritsar, has been sealed and surrounded by police and India’s Rapid Action Force while all major roads in Punjab currently have checkpoints by paramilitary forces.

RELATED STORY:

Punjab internet suspended as police arrest Amritpal and aides (Asia Samachar, 18 March 2023)

Upstart youth leader Amritpal Singh removes and burns gurdwara benches (Asia Samachar, 18 Dec 2022)

ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. When you leave a comment at the bottom of this article, it takes time to appear as it is moderated by human being. Unless it is offensive or libelous, it should appear. You can also comment at FacebookTwitter, and Instagram. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here.

NO COMMENTS