Four "close aides" of Amritpal Singh, the pro-Khalistani "fugitive" in Punjab were flown to Assam on Sunday morning, following which they were lodged in the Dibrugarh central jail.
This comes amid a "crackdown" launched by police and other security agencies in Punjab against "Waris Punjab De," the outfit allegedly led by Singh. Several members of the group have been arrested in Punjab and a manhunt is on for Singh.
Sources said four "close aides" of Singh were shifted to Assam for security reasons as their supporters launched a campaign to support Singh and his group.
An aircraft of the Indian Air Force landed at Jorhat airport from where they were taken to the Dibrugarh central jail in eastern Assam. A 27-member police team including an IGP of Punjab Prisons accompanied the four, police sources said. Security around Dibrugarh jail, one of the oldest jails, was tightened further after the four were lodged.
Police in Assam did not divulge further details. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, however, told a news agency that they were shifted by Punjab police due to security reasons. "Even we had shifted some accused persons to Bhagalpur jail in Bihar due to security reasons when Assam was facing militancy problem. Punjab police must have thought that they should be shifted to a different place. They have done so as per the police-to-police cooperation mechanism and I have nothing much to say on this," he said.
Punjab police launched a manhunt for Amritpal Singh, the elusive preacher, who gave police a slip and escaped from their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Jalandhar district. The administration also suspended mobile internet as part of measures to prevent spread of tension.