GUWAHATI: The Punjab Police will take back seven associates of jailed MP and radical preacher Amritpal Singh from Assam’s Dibrugarh jail, as their detention under the National Security Act (NSA) will not be extended, a senior police officer said Sunday.
These seven jail inmates will face legal proceedings related to the 2023 Ajnala police station attack. Their NSA detention period is expiring, and the state government has opted against extending it.
Amritpal Singh, leader of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, and nine associates have been detained in Dibrugarh jail under the NSA for two years. Singh recently won the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat as an independent candidate.
The associates returning to Punjab are: Basant Singh, Bhagwant Singh Bajekhana, Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwal, Daljit Singh Kalsi, Gurinderpal Singh Guri Aujla, Harjit Singh, and Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Satinder Singh stated that the police will proceed with the investigation into the Ajnala incident. He clarified that the ten individuals detained under the NSA have not yet been formally arrested in connection with the attack.
“We are moving forward with the investigation. We will arrest these seven individuals in FIR number 39 and bring them back to Punjab. We will bring them here for that case and continue the investigation,” DIG Satinder Singh told reporters in Amritsar.
When questioned about Amritpal Singh, the DIG declined to comment. He said that legal action will be taken against the seven returning individuals, as their NSA detention period concludes.
Last year, the NSA detention of Amritpal Singh and his nine associates was extended for another year. Singh, who modeled himself after Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Moga’s Rode village on April 23, 2023, following a month-long manhunt.
He had evaded police in Jalandhar on March 18, 2023.
The police crackdown followed the February 23, 2023, Ajnala incident, where Amritpal Singh and his supporters, some armed with swords and guns, breached barricades and entered the police station demanding the release of an aide, resulting in clashes with police.
Singh and his associates face charges including spreading disharmony, attempted murder, assaulting police officers, and obstructing public servants.
