File photo of radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh
Credit: PTI Photo
Chandigarh: Detention of radical Sikh preacher and newly elected MP from Khadoor Sahib seat Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail, has been extended by a year.
The Punjab government's home affairs and justice department ordered the extension on June 3 -- a day before the Lok Sabha election results came out.
The details of the order were revealed to the media on Wednesday.
The chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit is currently lodged in the Assam jail along with nine of his associates under the National Security Act.
Contending as an Independent, he won the 2024 Lok Sabha electoral battle from the Khadoor Sahib constituency, with his nearest rival being Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira.
Amritpal won by a margin of 1,97,120 votes. He polled 4,04,430 votes, while Zira got 2,07,310.
"On the basis of the facts and circumstances, the advisory board is of the opinion that there is sufficient cause for the detention of the detenue Amritpal Singh Sandhu @ Amritpal Singh under the provisions of National Security Act, 1980," read the June 3 order.
According to the order, the detention of the preacher has been extended for a period of 12 months from April 23, 2024.
Amritpal, who styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Moga's Rode village on April 23 last year following an over a month-long manhunt.
The Khalistan sympathizer had escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18, switching vehicles and changing appearances.
The Punjab Police had launched the crackdown after the February 23 Ajnala incident last year in which Amritpal Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of Lovepreet Singh Toofan, one of his aides.
He and his associates were booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.