Govt asks DMs to review arms licences of 'Waris Punjab De' head Amritpal Singh, associates

Jupinderjit Singh

Chandigarh, March 7

Days after ‘Waris Punjab De’ head Amritpal Singh and his supporters stormed a police station in Ajnala, the government has issued directions to the district magistrates to review arms licences issued to him and his eight aides. The move is seen as a step towards the cancellation of their licences.

No FIR in Ajnala incident yet

• Recently, Amritpal and his supporters had attacked the police and taken over the Ajnala police station
• The police are yet to register an FIR in this regard
• The licence of one of his aide was cancelled on Feb 20

A licence given to another supporter, Gurbhej Singh of Bajakhanna, Faridkot, was cancelled on February 20. He possessed the licence for carrying a .32 bore revolver and a .315 bore rifle.

Interestingly, two of Amritpal’s aides, Varinder Singh and Talwainder of Tarn Taran, had got licences issued from Jammu & Kashmir.

The issuance of the arms licence to them became a subject of much controversy earlier also when Amritpal took over as the president of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ that was founded by late Deep Sidhu.

Sidhu’s family and other office-bearers of the organisation have been asking how the government issued arms licences to Amritpal and others. Pictures of Amritpal moving around with his band of supporters, carrying guns and rifles have gone viral. A list of the arms licences reveals that Amritpal owns a .32 revolver issued by the Tarn Taran administration. The licence is valid till 2027, but the date of its issuance is not mentioned.

Other supporters who have arms licences are: Harpreet Devgun of Patiala, who owns .32 bore revolver, 30.06 Springfield rifle; Ram Singh Brar of Kotkapura, who owns 12 bore double-barrel rifle and a .32 bore revolver; Gurmeet Singh Bukanwala of Moga, who owns a .32 bore revolver; Avtar Singh of Chajli Sangrur, who owns a 12 bore double-barrel rifle; Harjit Singh of Khilchian, Amritsar, who owns a 12 bore double-barrel rifle and NP bore pistol; and Baljinder Singh of Amritsar who owns a double-barrel gun, a .32 bore revolver and a 315 bore rifle.