Ten days after the Punjab Police initiated a crackdown on Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, the fugitive continues to evade arrest. An attempt to net the radical preacher on Tuesday night failed after he once again dodged the police.
A massive search operation was launched in a Hoshiarpur village late on Tuesday night after some suspects abandoned their car following a chase.
A police team was chasing the car from Phagwara after suspicions that the fugitive Amritpal and his mentor could be travelling in the vehicle, sources told PTI. However, the occupants of the vehicle abandoned the car near Gurdwara Bhai Chanchal Singh in Marnaian village before fleeing.
Following this, the police launched a cordon and search operation in and around the village. Checkposts and barricades have been raised on the roads to nab the suspects as part of the search operations.
This comes as a fresh CCTV footage emerged from Delhi showing Amritpal walking on the streets of the capital. The footage is reportedly from March 21, three days after Punjab Police launched a massive operation to arrest the pro-Khalistan leader. Amritpal is seen wearing a denim jacket, and jeans with sunglasses on, and covering his face with a mask apparently to hide his identity in the video.
Behind him, Papalpreet Singh could be seen walking with a bag. The footage is said to be from a market in Delhi. However, a senior officer with the Delhi Police said they are probing whether the persons seen in the video are Amritpal Singh and his aide.
The police crackdown against him and members of his pro-Khalistan 'Waris Punjab De' outfit began on March 18, three weeks after he and his supporters stormed into the Ajnala police station near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested man.
The preacher escaped the police dragnet in Jalandhar district on March 18, switching vehicles and changing appearances.
He and his associates have been booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempts to murder, attacks on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.
