Punjab police registers two more FIRs against Amritpal Singh

The Punjab government has extended the suspension of mobile internet and SMS services till Tuesday noon, even as the hunt for radical Sikh preacher and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh continued.

The state authorities had on Saturday suspended the internet and SMS services till Sunday noon and then extended it till Monday noon.

The police earlier said they will soon arrest the fugitive preacher.

“In exercise of power conferred on me under the India Telegraph Act, 1885, it is directed that all mobile internet services (2G/3G/45/5G/CDMA/GPRS), all SMS services (excluding banking and mobile recharge) and all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except voice calls, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab shall be further suspended from March 19 (12.00 hours) to March 20 (12.00 hours) to prevent any incitement to violence and any disturbance of peace and public order," an official order issued on Sunday said.

Meanwhile, two more FIRs have been registered against radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his associates in connection with the recovery of a weapon from an abandoned vehicle and breaking through police barricades in Jalandhar.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Jalandhar range) Swapan Sharma said one of the FIRs was registered on Sunday after the recovery of a weapon and several dozens of live cartridges from the vehicle, which was believed to be part of Amritpal Singh's convoy on Saturday.

Police on Sunday came across the abandoned car in Salema village in Jalandhar's Shahkot.

The second case was registered on Saturday after Amritpal Singh and his associates broke through police barricades in Jalandhar, said Sharma.

Earlier, police had registered an FIR on February 24 against Amritpal Singh and his associates in connection with the Ajnala incident a day earlier.

On February 23, Amritpal and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the Ajnala Police Station on the outskirts of Amritsar, clashing with police for the release of one of Amritpal's aide.

Replying to a question whether Amritpal's four supporters were taken to Dibrugarh in Assam, the DIG said it is confidential.

He said 10 associates of Amritpal were arrested on Saturday.

He further said some phones have been recovered which have been sent for technical analysis.

In Salema village, police seized the ammunition and said the black-coloured multi-utility car was most likely part of Amritpal's convoy on Saturday.

The same car was also captured in a video a day earlier, they said.

A rifle, 57 live cartridges, a sword, and a registration number plate were among the articles recovered from the vehicle, police said.

The vehicle was found in an abandoned state in Salema village in Jalandhar's Shahkot, said Jalandhar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police Swarandeep Singh.

Interacting with reporters on the spot where the vehicle was found, Singh said, "We came to know that an abandoned vehicle had been found in Salema village." "The key of the vehicle was also lying there. A private walkie talkie, a .315 bore rifle and 57 live cartridges were found," he said.

On Saturday, police had said it had launched a "massive state-wide cordon and search operations (CASO)" in the state against elements of the 'Waris Punjab De' (WPD), headed by Amritpal, against whom several criminal cases have been registered.

A police spokesperson said that the WPD elements are involved in four criminal cases relating to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel, and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duties of public servants.

Dubai-returned Amritpal Singh was anointed the head of the 'Waris Punjab De' following the death of its founder - actor and activist Deep Sidhu - in a road accident in February last year.