Indian security forces on Sunday arrested Sikh independence leader Amritpal Singh, who had been on the run for more than a month after escaping arrest on March 18 in Punjab province following a manhunt broadcast live by some of his supporters.
»Amritpal Singh has been arrested in Moga, Punjab,» the provincial Police said through a brief message on its Twitter social network account. »We request citizens to maintain peace and harmony. Do not share fake news, always verify and share,» it said.
Singh, 30, is the leader of Waris Punjab De, an organization founded by actor and activist Deep Sidhu, who died in a road accident in February 2022. He and several of his followers are accused of ordering attacks on security forces.
The Sikh separatist’s name hit the headlines in February after hundreds of his followers stormed a police station to demand the release of one of his supporters, Lovepreet Singh, accused of kidnapping. During the incidents, some of those involved brandished swords and guns at the officers.
Singh claims to be a sympathizer of the separatist and terrorist group Yarnail Singh Bhindranwale, an armed organization that aspires to the independence of Khalistan as the homeland of the Sikhs in the territories of the former Sikh Empire with the Indian provinces of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi and parts of Kashmir and Rajasthan.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
