Indian police have arrested Amritpal Singh, a Sikh preacher who called for the secession of Punjab province to create an independent Sikh state. Photo courtesy of Waris Punjab De/Wikimedia Commons
April 23 (UPI) — Police in India have arrested Amritpal Singh, a Sikh preacher who called for the secession of Punjab province to create an independent Sikh nation.
Punjab police announced his arrest in a statement on Twitter, which urged citizens to “preserve peace and harmony”.
Amritpal was on the run for 36 days but was finally caught when he left Gurudwara Sahib, a Sikh place of worship, in Rode village late on Saturday. This was reported by The Times of India.
In a video circulating on social media, Amritpal appears to say that he has decided to surrender to the authorities. UPI could not independently verify the footage.
The saga began when Amritpal was appointed as the head of the Waris Punjab De movement in September after the death of its former leader Deep Sidhu. The political group is one of many seeking to create a new state, Khalistan, in the Punjab region.
In February, a close associate of Amritpal was arrested after another man claimed he had been abducted and beaten by his followers, The Times of India reported. Hundreds of his supporters then stormed the police station with guns and allegedly injured police personnel.
In March, police began a crackdown on Waris Punjab De, arresting dozens of people in what was seen as reminiscent of a separatist insurgency in the 1980s, subsequent attempts to quell the movement that left thousands dead.
According to the BBC, Amritpal said he was inspired by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a man accused by the Indian government of leading an armed insurgency in the 1980s. Bhindranwale died in 1984 during a police raid on Sikhism’s holiest site known as the Golden Temple.
The manhunt for Amritpal in recent weeks has sparked instability in the region, with authorities imposing social media censorship and partially shutting down the internet during the raids, the Washington Post reported.
Amritpal has also seen a surge in global support amid protests in the United States and Britain that have seen new supporters vandalize Indian embassies.
“Action will be taken against those who try to disturb the peace and law of the country,” state Chief Minister Baghwant Mann said. in the video. “We will not disturb any innocent person. We don’t do politics of revenge.”
