7 aides of jailed MP Amritpal Singh remanded in four-day Punjab Police custody

Jailed Khadoor Sahib MP and radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh’s seven associates were produced before a local court on Friday in connection with the attack on the Ajnala police station in 2023 and remanded in police custody till March 25.

The seven were released from the Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam and re-arrested in another case by Punjab Police. They were brought by air under tight security and landed at Amritsar airport on Thursday night.

All seven were produced before the court in Ajnala at 8.30am and sent to four-day police remand, officials said. Police sought the remand on various grounds, including to recover mobile phones and weapons, and to conduct further investigations.

The seven were brought back after the state government decided not to reinvoke the National Security Act (NSA) at the end of their detention period. Punjab Police secured their transit remand and after completing the legal transfer process from Dibrugarh jail they were brought to Ajnala.

A 25-member Punjab Police team had been camping in Dibrugarh for the past few days to facilitate the transfer of the seven, who had been imprisoned along with the Waris Punjab De leader in Dibrugarh for nearly two years.

The seven brought back are Basant Singh of Daulatpura Ucha in Moga, Bhagwant Singh, alias Pradhan Mantri Bajeke, of Bajeke village in Moga, Gurmeet Singh Gill, alias Gurmeet Bukkanwala, of Bukkanwala village in Moga, Sarabjeet Singh Kalsi, alias Daljeet Singh Kalsi, of West Punjabi Bagh in New Delhi, Gurinderpal Singh Aujla, alias Guri Aujla, of Phagwara, Harjeet Singh, alias Chacha, of Jallupur Khera village in Amritsar and Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, alias Kulwant Singh, of Rauke Kalan in Moga.

All of them were released from Dibrugarh Central Jail in batches this week as their detention period in the National Security Act (NSA) expired.

Amritpal in Assam jail till mid-June

Amritpal Singh had fought the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as an independent and had won from Khadoor Sahib. He along with Papalpreet Singh and Varinder Singh Johal will continue to be held under NSA in Dibrugarh. Their detention is scheduled to expire in the middle of June.

The radical preacher, who styled himself after slain militant preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Moga’s Rode village on April 23, 2023 following an over a month-long manhunt. He had escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18, 2023, switching vehicles and changing appearances. The Punjab Police had launched the crackdown after the February 23, 2023, Ajnala incident in which Amritpal and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, allegedly broke through barricades and barged into the police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of his aides.

His associates and he were booked on charges of spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

Political stunt, says defence lawyer

Advocate Harpal Singh Khara, who represented the defence in the court, said, “Police have cited the need to recover mobile phones and weapons. However, both items are already in their custody. The case is under trial. They cited the accused carried Guru Granth Sahib to the police station. Carrying Guru Granth Sahib is no offence and respect was not compromised. Seeking remand for recoveries is ridiculous. This is nothing but a political stunt.

“How can you talk about the recovery after keeping anyone in prison for two years? The police have admitted that they have already procured call details. What is being done by the government against Amritpal and his aides is politically motivated. The party has taken shape. We have submitted an application to the judge seeking permission for meeting the accused. Our plea is pending as the judge is to get a reply from the state over this. I hope we will get the permission.”