Amritpal Singh, the Khalistani sympathiser, who is trying to rebrand himself as Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale 2.0, has reiterated that “our aim for Khalistan shouldn’t be seen as evil & taboo. It should be seen from an intellectual point of view as to what could be its geopolitical benefits. It’s an ideology and ideology never dies. We are not asking for it from Delhi”.
Amritpal Singh’s statement came amid escalating tension in Punjab over the arrest his close aide Lovepreet Toofan. The Punjab police on February 24 released Toofan saying that he wasn’t found guilty.
His release comes after thousands of supporters of Amritpal Singh attacked Ajnala police station in Amritsar and disturbed the law and order situation. Lovepreet Toofan was arrested in an assault and kidnapping case against which his supporters were agitating.
It is to be noted that, there was heavy deployment of police personnel outside Amritsar’s Ajnala police station on February 24, the day after the chief of pro-Khalistan outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’, Amritpal Singh, staged a massive protest on the premises along with his followers, demanding the release of his close aide, Lovepreet Toofan.
On Febrauary 23, after talks with the ‘Waris Punjab De’ leader and his followers, Punjab police decided to release Lovepreet Toofan.
Thousands of armed supporters of the group broke barricades at a police station in Amritsar and allegedly threatened to disrupt law and order if their demand was not met.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Amritsar (Rural), Satinder Singh said, “In the light of the evidence presented before us, it has been decided that Lovepreet Toofan will be discharged. An SIT was constituted to investigate the case (against Toofan).”
“They (‘Waris Punjab De’ members) have furnished enough evidence to support his (Toofan’s) innocence. The SIT has also taken cognisance of the same. These people have decided to disperse peacefully now. Law will take its course,” the SSP said.
Amritpal Singh said, “…FIR was registered with a political motive. If they don’t cancel the case in one hour, the administration will be responsible for what happens next. They think we can’t do anything. so this show of strength was necessary.”
“False news is being circulated that a police personnel was injured (during the protest). The truth is that he (a police personnel) was injured after a fall. In fact,10-12 of our men were injured (in clashes with the police). We demand that Lovepreet Toofan be released within 24 hours. We won’t even wait 24 hours,” warned Amritpal.
Amritpal Singh is the current chief of (Late) Deep Sidhu’s organisation’ Waris Punjab De’, which he took over in September 2022. Since taking over Sidhu’s organisation, Amritpal Singh has witnessed a steep rise in popularity with his anti-Government, pro-Khalistani stance and conspiracy theories.
He continues to dispute Sidhu’s death, claiming that the “Indian government killed him (Deep Sidhu)”, even though his girlfriend, Reena Rai, released her statement stating that Sidhu’s overspeeding caused the accident.
Amritpal Singh and five aides have been charged with kidnapping, theft, rioting, causing injury and unlawful assembly based on a complaint filed by his former aide, Varinder Singh. The complainant has alleged that Amritpal Singh and his armed men kidnapped and beat him up.
In an interview with ThePrint, he called Bhindranwale an “inspiration” and continued to state, “We wanted to celebrate Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as a youth icon. We wanted to give the state a message that no matter how evil they portray him as he will always be our hero.”
Often dubbed Bhindranwale 2.0, Amritpal Singh has said, “Bhindranwale is my inspiration. I will walk the path shown by him. I want to be like him because that’s what every Sikh wants, but I am not copying him. I am not even equal to dust of his feet.”
Also Read: https://organiser.org/2023/02/24/99089/bharat/punjab/amritpal-singh-new-face-of-sponsored-extremism/
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