Punjab Police get four days to grill MP Amritpal’s aide Papalpreet

Punjab Police on Friday secured a four-day remand of Papalpreet Singh, a key aide of radical Sikh preacher and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh.

Papalpreet, who is a key associate of Amritpal and his media advisor, was brought back to Punjab after his two-year detention under the National Security Act (NSA) at Dibrugarh Jail in Assam ended.

This leaves only MP Amritpal incarcerated in Assam all his other associates have been brought back to Punjab to face charges in various cases registered against them including the attack on Ajnala police station.

The eight associates— Kulwant Singh Rauke, Harjeet Singh Chacha, Gurinder Pal Singh alias Guri, Gurmeet Singh Bukanwala, Bhagwant Singh, Daljit Singh Kalsi, Basant Singh and Varinder Singh alias Fauji, have been lodged to different jails in Punjab.

The police team reached Amritsar on Thursday night after getting custody of Papalpreet.

He was produced at a local court of Ajnala in the Ajnala Police Station attack case. The court has granted a four-day remand, Ajnala deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Gurwinder Singh Aulakh said.

In 2023, Amritpal and his associates were booked on charges of spreading disharmony, attempt to murder, attacking police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants in the Ajnala Police Station assault case.

The crackdown on Amritpal and his supporters began on March 18, 2023, when a police cavalcade intercepted his car near Mehatpur town in Jalandhar when he was going to Bathinda to address a gathering.

Amritpal and Papalpreet had managed to escape the crackdown. The police arrested Papalpreet on April 10 from the Kathunangal area of Amritsar district, a few days before the arrest of Amritpal.

His mother Mandhir Kaur, who reached the Ajnala court during his production, said, “The case registered against my son is false as he was not present during the incident at Ajnala Police Station. The police have no evidence against him. We will prove in court that he is innocent. My son was an anti-drug crusader and preached Sikhi.”

Papalpreet’s advocate, Harpal Singh Khara, claimed that “police and the state officials are not clear about the accusations” against Papalpreet and under which sections he was detained.

“Also, nothing was stolen from the police station either. They’re saying the police station was attacked, but there was no damage done,” Khara said, adding “The police and state will keep extending the legal process in the name of remands and investigation. It’s only a drama.”