Punjab Police ask Tinder for details on account 'linked' to Amritpal

Punjab Police has sought information from dating app Tinder about an account suspected to be linked with radical preacher and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who has been booked in the murder of a Sikh activist.

In a communication to Tinder, the Faridkot police said it was probing the murder case of Sikh activist Gurpreet Singh Hari Nau, who was shot dead on October 9 last year while returning home from the village Gurdwara on his motorcycle. Nau was a member of the radical outfit 'Waris Punjab De' headed by Amritpal Singh.

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, in October last year, claimed that Nau was killed allegedly at the behest of Amritpal Singh, who is currently jailed under the stringent National Security Act.

Police also claimed that gangster-turned-terrorist Arshdeep Singh, alias Arsh Dalla, was the mastermind behind the killing. It said two shooters of the gang have been arrested in the case, registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act.

In the communication dated May 26 and accessed by PTI on Saturday, police wrote, “This is to inform you that the Punjab Police, India, is currently investigating a murder case registered under FIR No. 159 dated 10-10-2024 under Sections 103(1), 126(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 along with relevant provisions of the Arms Act. 1959, at Police Station Sadar Kotkapura, District Faridkot, Punjab, India.”

“On 09-10-2024, Gurpreet Singh, a well-known online activist, was shot dead by two assailants on a motorcycle. The deceased managed a Facebook page 'Hari Nau Talks' and had been outspoken against the Sikh radical Amritpal Singh. Shooters have been apprehended and are under investigation.

“During the course of investigation, a Tinder account under the name 'Amrit Sandhu' (screenshot attached) was identified, and the account is suspected to be linked with Amritpal Singh, accused in the said FIR. The communication and analysis of data might provide evidence to the Investigating Agency relevant to the FIR,” the police wrote.

Police have sought from Tinder the subscriber details, name, date of birth, phone number, location information, and IP address logs since January 1, 2019, of the account.

It also sought information on all linked e-mail IDs and phone numbers, photographs and media files uploaded by the account, friends/contacts list and mutual matches, chat history and messages exchanged via the Tinder platform and any other detail.

Amritpal Singh, an MP from the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency in Punjab, is currently lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act (NSA).

Amritpal, who heads the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit and has styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was jailed along with nine of his associates under the NSA.