Amritpal Singh addresses his supporters (document)
New Delhi:
With the help of Sikh separatists abroad, Pakistan’s external spy agency ISI has been behind the push for Amripal Singh’s return to India, with the aim of reviving terrorism in Punjab, according to officials.
They say Singh, about 30 years old and a truck driver in Dubai before ISI, radicalized him with the help of Khalistan supporters outside India so that he could bring Punjab back into trouble. The dark days of terrorism.
Threatening Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singhman, the radical Sikh preacher has been making public statements about secession from India and formation of Khalistan. He spoke of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Chief Minister Biante Singh who were assassinated by terrorists.
Indira Gandhi was shot by his own guards, while Beant Singh was killed by Dilawar Singh who played the body bomber. The radical preacher claims that many Thilawas are ready to deal with the current situation in Punjab.
Whether at his Republic Day rally in Tarn Taran this year or in interviews with the media, he has publicly supported separatism and the formation of Khalistan.
Officials said he had incited Sikh youths to resort to an armed insurrection against an elected government against what they called discriminatory treatment in order to achieve the “ultimate goal” of forming a “Khalistan”.
During an event in Rhodes, Moga district, Singh had said that a non-Sikh ruling government has no right to rule the people of Punjab and that the people of Punjab can only be ruled by Sikhs.
He has been mimicking the lines of terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in Operation Blue Star in 1984, imitating his attire, demeanor, carrying arrows, keeping an army of armed bodyguards and taking up religious shields.
Singh, who is now at large, is also accused of ties to Rahbir Singrod, president of the International Sikh Youth Federation, who is seeking trial in India and wanted for arms smuggling, including RDX explosives, in a conspiracy in New Delhi. Attack the government leaders and spread hatred in Punjab.
Tracking his whereabouts, officials said Singh was in close contact with Lord’s brother, Jaswan, during his stay in Dubai.
After returning to Punjab at the behest of the ISI, Singh established his organization with the help of Amrit Sanchar. He later started a movement called “Khalsa Waheer” and strengthened his organization by going to the countryside, they said.
He picked up problems in Punjab and started inciting Sikhs against the government by invoking the religion.
“The underclass and aimless young people were easy targets for Singh and he started exploiting these sentiments in the name of religion,” said a source.
Under the guise of organizing Amripan ceremonies to baptize Sikh youths and connect them to the religion, he was trying to raise an army of disenchanted youth poised to take over the country, according to officials.
Disregarding the sanctity of such a devout place as the Gurdwara, his so-called army destroyed two Gurdwaras to preserve some furniture for the elderly and disabled to sit on, they said.
His main goal, according to officials, was to push Punjab into dark decades of belligerent struggles that had been fought against great odds and with much sacrifice.
Officials claimed that the group led by Singh was receiving funds from Pakistan.
The radical Sikh preacher took over Waris Punjab De’s accounts with the help of his uncle Harjit Singh, thus making it a family-run organisation.
They said the so-called preacher had been using Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji for personal gain in the February instigation, which was considered a form of blasphemy.
Singh’s actions were condemned by the entire Sikh community and after the incident, Shri Akal Takht Sahib formed a committee and ordered an investigation into the matter.
Singh went to Jathedar Akal Takht and threatened him with silence, officials said.
Singh had said in a statement that the incident in Ajnala was “not violence” and threatened “real violence” in the future.
(Aside from the title, this story is unedited by NDTV staff and published via a syndicated feed.)
