Punjab won't reinvoke NSA against 7 Amritpal aides

In a significant development, the Punjab Police are planning to bring back seven accomplices of jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh from Assam’s Dibrugarh jail as the state government has decided not to seek an extension of their detention under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

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Upon their release, the seven associates will face the law in connection with an attack on the Ajnala police station, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said today. “A police team, led by Superintendent of Police Harinder Singh Gill, is stationed in Dibrugarh to take custody of the seven detenues once their NSA detention period ends. They will be produced before a court in Dibrugarh and their transit remand will be sought to ensure their swift return to Punjab,” said Yadav.

Amritpal, a pro-Khalistan activist and Waris Punjab De chief, would, however, remain in the high-security jail, a police official said. Apart from the NSA, the Punjab Police have invoked the stringent UAPA against him for allegedly killing a Sikh activist in Hari Nau Singh village in Faridkot earlier this year.

Sources said the police also fear Amritpal’s release could lead to law and order issues.

Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh said his son was arrested nearly a month after the nine detainees. All 10 have been lodged in the Assam jail for the past two years. “We hope Amritpal will also be brought back once his NSA detention period expires,” he said.

Among those to be brought from Assam are Basant Singh of Daulatpura Ucha in Moga; Bhagwant Singh, alias Pradhan Mantri Bajeke, of Bajeke village in Moga; Gurmeet Singh Gill of Bukkanwala village in Moga; Sarabjeet Singh Kalsi, alias Daljeet Singh, of West Punjabi Bagh in New Delhi; Gurinderpal Singh Aujla of Phagwara; Harjeet Singh, alias Chacha, of Jallupur Khera village in Amritsar; and Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal of Rauke Kalan in Moga.

Providing further details, DIG (Border Range) Satinder Singh and SSP (Amritsar Rural) Maninder Singh said the process to bring seven of the 10 detenues back to Punjab to face trial in various cases would begin on Monday.

On February 23, 2023, Amritpal and his supporters had attacked the Ajnala police station to free one of their associates, Lovepreet Singh, alias Toofan. Several police personnel, including SP Jugraj Singh, sustained serious injuries in the attack.