Ajnala attack case: Punjab Police reach Assam to arrest Amritpal Singh after NSA detention ends
High Court allows continued custody in Dibrugarh jail, permits trial in Amritsar court via video-conferencing after formal arrest in February 2023 case
Amritsar (Rural) police have reached Dibrugarh in Assam to formally arrest Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh in connection with the Ajnala police station attack case of February 2023.
He is likely to be arrested on April 23 after the expiry of his detention under the National Security Act (NSA).
Amritpal has been lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail since April 23, 2023, after he was taken into custody and detained under the NSA.
His associates — Papalpreet Singh, Daljeet Singh Kalsi, Kulwant Singh, Varinder Johal, Gurmeet Singh Bhukhanwala, his uncle Harjit Singh, Basant Singh, Gurinder Singh Aujla and Bhagwant Singh — were also detained under the NSA and other charges earlier, but they were shifted to Punjab last year and are currently facing trial in the Ajnala sub-divisional court here.
Two days ago, the Punjab and Haryana High Court permitted the state government to keep Amritpal lodged in Dibrugarh jail even after the expiry of his NSA detention, following his arrest in the Ajnala case.
The state government had moved the High Court seeking permission to arrest him in the case and continue to keep him in the Assam jail, citing security and law and order concerns if he is brought to Amritsar for trial. It also urged that the trial be conducted through video-conferencing.
With his NSA detention set to end on Thursday, the state sought directions for his continued custody after formal arrest in the case.
In its order, released on Sunday, the High Court allowed the Amritsar trial court to conduct all proceedings, including police and judicial remand, through virtual mode to enable Amritpal to defend himself.
The FIR in the Ajnala violence case was registered on February 24, 2023.
Amritpal’s counsel, advocate Harpal Singh Khara, said the court had permitted the state to arrest him in the case after the expiry of his NSA detention and to conduct subsequent proceedings through video-conferencing.
“The court has allowed the trial to be conducted in Amritsar through virtual mode. He will be arrested and produced before the court via video-conferencing,” he said.
