New Delhi: Separatist Amritpal Singh remains missing but his close aide Joga Singh, who had escaped with him two weeks ago, was arrested today in Punjab.
Joga Singh was caught in Sonewal near Ludhiana.
When the police launched its crackdown on Amritpal Singh and his pro-Khalistan ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, the radical preacher had fled along with his driver Joga Singh and associate Pappalpreet.
Amritpal Singh had allegedly asked Joga Singh to keep running with his mobile phone on, to mislead the police. The Punjab Police had been tracking Amritpal Singh through the phone signals of his driver.
When the cops zeroed in on Joga Singh, he was alone and far from his boss’ location. Amritpal, said sources, had managed to give the police the slip once again.
Amritpal Singh has dodged the police for 14 days. He has put out two videos on YouTube while on the run.
Yesterday, he posted a video saying he will not surrender.
The 30-year-old separatist has been evading the police since March 18, about three weeks after he and his supporters stormed a police station near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested man.
The Jathedar of Akal Takht (the highest temporal seat of Sikhs) has asked the fugitive to surrender.
Last week, the Punjab and Haryana High Court questioned how Amritpal Singh had managed to duck arrest repeatedly.
“You have 80,000 cops. What were they doing? How did Amritpal Singh escape?” the High Court asked the Punjab government, calling it an intelligence failure.
On Monday, Amritpal Singh was seen in an image posted on social media; he was apparently in Delhi when the photo was taken.
Intelligence agencies believe Amritpal Singh is involved in a wide range of “illegal activities” including sourcing weapons from Pakistan through ISI for alleged attempts to divide Punjab on communal lines.
Amritpal Singh claims to be a follower of the Khalistani separatist and terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and his supporters call him “Bhindranwale 2.0.”
More than 100 people have been arrested and the stringent National Security Act has been slapped on his close aides. Images posted on social media place him in different cities.
