Amritpal Not Radicalised, Seems Flexible in His Ideas: Top Intel Source to CNN-News18

Khalistan sympathiser and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, who was arrested by Punjab Police from Moga’s Rode village on Sunday after a 36-day manhunt, is not firm on his statements, according to a top intelligence source.

Singh, according to the source, is not radicalised like Abdul Suhan Qureshi or Yasin Bhatkal of Indian Mujahideen. “He seems to be very flexible in his ideas," said the source, adding, “He speaks very good English."

“The assessment about him was possibly hyped. He is giving contradictory statements," said the source.

“Singh spoke about the danger to Sikhism in Punjab. He also spoke against Pakistan, saying the country doesn’t treat Sikhs well," said the source.

CAUGHT AT 6.45 AM

The preacher was taken into custody at 6.45 am as he came out in traditional attire that included a sheathed sword of the gurdwara in Rode, Bhindranwale’s native village and also the place which he took over last year as the chief of Waris Punjab De.

The Punjab Police, which had completely surrounded the gurdwara where Singh was hiding, detained the 29-year-old radical under the stringent National Security Act.

“A joint operation was conducted by Amritsar police and the intelligence wing of Punjab Police. He was located in Rode based on operational inputs with the Punjab Police. He was surrounded from all sides," said Inspector General of Police Sukhchain Singh Gill.

TAKEN TO ASSAM

Singh was flown by a special flight from Bhatinda air force station to Dibrugarh in Assam and lodged in a high-security prison.

The special flight which brought him to Dibrugarh landed at Dibrugarh at 2.20 pm and a double cordon of armed police personnel whisked him away for a medical check-up and other formalities before eventually lodging him in the Central Jail, where his nine associates, picked up over the past several weeks, have also been kept.

Shortly after his arrest, a video surfaced online in which the extremist preacher was seen delivering a brief address, indicating that he was surrendering. Another clip showed him sitting before a portrait of Bhindranwale, who died in a controversial Army operation in 1984 to flush out militants holed up inside Amritsar’s Golden Temple.

Gill countered the preacher’s claim that it was a “surrender", and underlined that the fugitive was cornered on the basis of intelligence inputs.

‘WILL HAVE TO FACE THE LAW’

In a video message hours after the arrest, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said those who disturb peace and harmony in the state will have to face the law, and innocent people will not be disturbed.

Mann said he continuously monitored developments during the night, leading to the arrest.

Former Akal Takht jathedar Jasbir Singh Rode said he met Singh at the gurdwara as the preacher prepared to surrender.

In the gurdwara clip, Singh said: “I have decided to surrender and this arrest is not an end, it is the beginning."

In the “court of the Almighty", he said he was not guilty.

CASES AFTER AJNALA INCIDENT

Police had launched a crackdown against Singh on March 18, about three weeks after he and his supporters, many of them brandishing weapons, stormed into the Ajnala police station near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested colleague.

There were concerns that the preacher had links with Pakistan spy agency ISI and was working towards radicalising the Sikh youth, in an effort to revive the call for a separate nation of ‘Khalistan’.

Singh returned from Dubai last year and took over Waris Punjab De after the death of activist-singer Deep Sandhu.

Among the declared aims of the outfit was fighting drug addiction among young people, but intelligence agencies feared that this was just a front.

Several cases have been lodged against Singh and his associates for allegedly spreading disharmony, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and obstructing the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

His wife Kirandeep Kaur, a UK-based woman he married in February, was stopped from boarding a flight to London from Amritsar airport recently.

With PTI Inputs

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