After releasing an audio clip on March 29 around 4 pm, Sikh extremist Amritpal Singh shared a video on YouTube saying, he will not surrender. He also shared a video where he went live on Facebook on March 30. In the new video, he calls for Sarbat Khalsa on Baisakhi. The Punjab police is yet to arrest the Khalistani leader Singh, it has been more than 13 days since the crackdown began.
He used a phone and went live on the Facebook page of Sikh Channel around 9 pm. His earlier video and audio were pre-recorded. In his 40-minute video, Amritpal Singh is trying to provoke the youth as he demanded to call Sarbat Khalsa on the occasion of Baisakhi.
He began the video by saying, many believe that the last video was made during the police custody but it was not, as he will not surrender.
“I am appearing in front of you for the first time since March 18. First I want to talk about the action of the Punjab Government. If their intention would have been only to arrest me, then they could have simply done it and I would have surrendered… but instead of that they tried to do it by force… and it was due to the blessings of God, we are able to escape… when the internet was shut down, we were not able to communicate and didn’t know what was going around… I would like to thank all who came in front to support us…,” said Amritpal Singh.
Sarbat Khalsa is a meeting called by various Sikh organisations to solve the sectarian crisis. On this occasion, cult organisations discuss ideas to find a solution to the crisis and whatever decision is taken, the Jathedar of Takht Sahib orders the community to follow it.
Amritpal said he would surely come before everyone soon. He trashed the views of some people that he could get his hair shorn again. He told them, “I will get my scalp removed before I do that”. He terms his 13-day escape from the police a “period of revolt”.
Earlier, in his 2.08 minute audio message, Amritpal could be heard saying that he had urged the Jathedar to convene Sarbat Khalsa. “By doing so, he should give a proof of being a Jathedar. If he is to play politics as earlier, there is no point in being a Jathedar in future. This is the time when the Sikh community must unite,” Amritpal said.
He said his arrest will affect the Sikh community. “If this is happening to me, it could be someone else’s turn tomorrow. I am not afraid of my arrest or any custodial torture,” he said.
In the YouTuve video, he said, “I am not used to making videos while looking into the camera. I was not using any mike for a clear sound. There is absolutely no conspiracy in it. My health was down that day. I have been taking meal after 24 hours but I am in high spirits,” he said.
He said, “When there is no talk going on about my arrest, there is clearly no reason why I would have put up any conditions.”
Amritpal Singh further reiterated that despite the ‘hue and cry’ notice issued against him, he does not consider himself a fugitive, and will appear in front of the world soon.
Speaking in Punjabi, he said in the YouTube video, “Those who feel that I have turned fugitive and I have left my associates, they should not keep this illusion in their mind. I do not fear death.”
He said, “God helped me escape”.
He requested the leader of the Akal Takht to protest against the actions of the government and the police, urging them to raise their voice against the crackdown against the Waris Punjab De members.
“You have 80,000 cops. What were they doing. How did Amritpal Singh escape?” the High Court asked the Punjab Government, calling it an intelligence failure.
Cops are still unaware of Amritpal Singh’s location, who is on run. Several photos and videos of the radical leader have surfaced over the past few days in which he has been spotted at various locations in northern India and is still out at large.
The crackdown on his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’ started weeks after Amritpal Singh’s supporters stormed a police station in Ajnala, near Amritsar, to secure the release of one his followers.
The Punjab Government has slapped the stringent National Security Act against him and some of his close aides but still Singh is away from their hands.
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