While the hunt for fugitive pro-Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh entered its sixth day, it has emerged that the ‘Waris Punjab De’ president may have crossed the border to neighbouring Haryana.
Addressing a press conference, Punjab’s inspector general of police, Headquarters, Sukhchain Singh Gill, on Thursday revealed that Amritpal Singh’s last location was in Haryana.
The Haryana Police has nabbed a woman, identified as Baljit Kaur, who allegedly harboured Amritpal Singh and his associate Papalpreet Singh at her home in the state’s Kurukshetra district. The Haryana Police has handed over Baljit Kaur to the Punjab Police.
“We are still actively searching for Amritpal Singh and have come to know that its last location was in Haryana. We have taken a woman named Baljit Kaur into custody. Amritpal stayed at this woman’s house in Kurukshetra (Haryana) and the Waris Punjab De chief and his close aide, Papalpreet Singh, had been in touch with her for the last two-and-a-half years.”
How Amritpal Singh escaped to Haryana?
A carcade of five vehicles, including a high-end Mercedes, carrying Amritpal Singh, who had returned from Dubai last year to head ‘Waris Panjab De’, started from his village Jallupur Khera in Amritsar on on March 18 when the Punjab Police launched a massive crackdown on the ‘Waris Punjab De’.
The convoy had to cross the Sutlej river, and the crack team of Punjab Police commandos were waiting at Harike barrage. A vehicle acting as a convoy pilot had spotted a large posse of armed policemen waiting on the barrage, news agency PTI reported.
The driver of the vehicle returned to inform Amritpal Singh about the police movement. Amritpal immediately changed course and instead crossed the Sutlej river at Govindwal Sahib, where only a few district policemen were there.
PTI quoting officials reported that the Punjab Police was confident that the radical preacher would cross only at Harike barrage. No alternative arrangements were made to catch the pro-Khalistan preacher on other routes.
Amritpal crossed the bridge at Govindwal Sahib, but then the convoy carrying him made a U-turn and started moving towards Shahkot.
In the meantime, a crack team of Punjab police commandos also started chasing him, PTI reported.
The pro-Khalistani leader then abandoned his Mercedes and switched cars which was also subsequently left at a village in Jalandhar before he took a motorcycle.
Amritpal’s pillion riding on the bike was the last image available in the public domain. Papalpreet Singh was riding the bike.
Tracking his movement till March 20, it has emerged now that after changing his appearance at Phillaur, he and Papalpreet Singh crossed over to Haryana and took shelter at the residence of Baljit Kaur. They stayed in Shahbad for two days. They used a scooty to travel from Ludhiana to Shahbad. Before reaching her residence, the duo hijacked a third motorcycle at gunpoint when their vehicles malfunctioned.
Lady arrested from Shahbaad has disclosed that Amritpal had changed his attire and was wearing a turban. He also fixed his moustache.