Amritpal Singh's 3 associates detained under NSA hail from Moga

Tribune News Service

Moga, March 21

Three Sikh youths, who have been detained at Dibrugarh jail in Assam, under the National Security Act (NSA), belong to Moga district.

The youths — Bhagwant Singh, alias Pradhan Mantri Bajeke, a resident of Bajeke village; Gurmeet Singh of Bukkanwala village and Basant Singh, a resident of Daulatpura village —are close associates of separatist leader Amritpal Singh Sandhu.

Bhagwant Singh, alias Pradhan Mantri Bajeke, had at least eight criminal cases registered against him in the past. He used to handle social media propaganda for Amritpal and was vocal on socio-religious issues. He has more than 6 lakh followers on his Facebook page.

He had dropped out of the school in Class IX and started helping his father on his family’s farm. He got baptised after coming in contact with Amritpal and became an active member of his (Amritpal’s) core team.

The first case against Bajeke was registered on August 24, 2012, for trespass. The second case was registered against him at Dharamkot police station on December 3, 2015. He was booked on charges of assault. Later, a case was registered against him on May 17, 2016, for a murderous attack and under the Arms Act.

On July 18, 2017, another trespass case was registered against him. He was booked on August 5, 2021, under the NDPS Act. On March 23, 2020, a case under Sections 269 and 270 was registered against him.

Gurmeet Singh was one of the personal security guards of Amritpal and reportedly doesn’t have a criminal background. He used to carry his licensed revolver during public meetings of Amritpal and was also among his main advisers. His arms licence is under review by the district administration. Gurmeet, who was into furniture business in Moga city, was also seen with Amritpal on the day of the attack on the Ajnala police station on February 23.

Basant Singh (28) used to work in Amritpal and his family’s transport business in the UAE. He returned to India shortly after Amritpal came here to become the head of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ organisation. He started living with Amritpal and used to handle his social media activities and was the de facto in-charge of his communications.

About them

• Bhagwant Singh of Bajeke village: Also known as Pradhan Mantri Bajeke, booked in eight criminal cases, has six lakh FB followers
• Gurmeet Singh of Bukkanwala village : Was Amritpal’s personal security guard, has no criminal record, his arms licence is under review
• Basant Singh of Daulatpura village: Had worked with Amritpal in Dubai, handled his social media, was made in-charge of de-addiction centre

Kalsi his financier

• Outside Moga, Daljeet Singh Kalsi, alias Sarabjeet Singh Kalsi, arrested from Gurugram was a popular Punjabi actor.
• He was a close aide of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ founder and actor-turned-activist, Deep Sidhu. Kalsi also wanted a separate Sikh homeland.
• After Sidhu’s death, he got associated with Amritpal. The police believe Kalsi was raising funds for Amritpal and helping him organise public meets

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