Chandigarh: Saying that the state will take action against “those who try to disrupt the country’s peace and law”, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said the government did not indulge in vendetta politics and maintained restrain in the arrest of Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh.
Hours after the arrest of the Waris Punjab De chief after over one month of chase by the police, Mann said those who break the law will be brought to justice and vowed strict action against Amritpal Singh.
“I gave instructions to Punjab Police that the sanctity of Guru Granth Sahib should not be compromised. Amritpal Singh was arrested after 35 days. If people disturb peace, then action will be taken. We don’t indulge in vendetta politics. We didn’t want any violence for the arrest. I thank 3.5 crore Punjabis for maintaining peace.”
The Chief Minister lauded the action of Punjab Police for cracking down on Amritpal Singh. He said he monitored the operation throughout the night.
Amritpal Singh was arrested by the police from the Moga district Sunday morning. He was shifted to Assam’s Dibrugarh jail, where nine of his aides are currently lodged.
Responding to arrest of his son, mother Balwinder Kaur said they came to know that he has surrendered.
“I felt proud that he surrendered like a warrior… We will fight a legal battle and we will also go and meet him at the earliest,” she told the media.
She said her son was doing a good job weaning people away from drugs, but instead of catching those who were spreading this disease of drugs in Punjab, the police caught him.
Tarsem Singh, father of Amritpal Singh, said through television they came to know that he surrendered before the police. “We too wanted the same because people were being harassed due to him… We will fight the case.”
Amritpal Singh was arrested from the native village of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in the Indian Army’s Operation Blue Star in 1984.
As per police, he was shifted to Dibrugarh jail as the National Security Act (NSA) has been invoked against him.
Law enforcement agencies can keep him in detention for over 12 months.
The 30-year-old Waris Punjab De chief had been on the run after evading arrest on March 18.
He shot to prominence in February after an armed mob led by him clashed with police and laid siege to a police station near Amritsar, demanding the release of one of their colleagues who had been taken into custody in an alleged kidnapping case.
Six policemen were injured in the bloody clash.
–IANS
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