Indian regulation enforcement officers on Sunday apprehended Amritpal Singh, a outstanding separatist chief, who had evaded authorities for greater than a month.
Singh, recognized for reiterating calls for for a sovereign Sikh state, was taken into custody by the police.
Police within the northern state of Punjab tweeted that Singh, 30, was arrested in Moga.
Singh, a self-styled preacher, rose to prominence earlier this yr by voicing assist for the Khalistan motion, which requires Punjab’s secession to create an impartial state for India’s Sikh non secular minority.
He leads a gaggle generally known as Waris Punjab De, or Heirs of Punjab, which was a part of the huge protests staged by farmers towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s contentious agriculture reforms.
The group was shaped by actor and activist Deep Sidhu, who died in a automobile crash final yr, after which Singh grew to become its head.
Singh’s supporters stormed a police station in Punjab in February, wielding weapons and swords, to demand the discharge of an arrested aide.
“Amritpal Singh was arrested by Punjab police at around 6.45 a.m. (1.15 a.m. GMT) on Sunday morning. He was absconding for more than one month,” Sukhchain Singh Gill, the state’s high police official, advised reporters.
He mentioned Singh was arrested below the National Security Act and has been moved to a jail within the northeastern state of Assam.
Local broadcaster NDTV reported that Singh surrendered to police after providing prayers at a Sikh shrine within the village of Rode.
He additionally addressed his followers on the shrine in Moga, the birthplace of militant Sikh chief Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed by the Indian army in 1984 throughout an operation on the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs.
Indian authorities launched an enormous manhunt for Singh and his supporters final month. Many of his aides had been caught, however he evaded arrest for weeks.
The Punjab authorities even suspended cell web and messaging companies to limit the group’s communications.
More than 100 folks had been arrested within the crackdown, and most had been launched.
The operation sparked pro-Khalistan protests at Indian diplomatic missions in a number of nations, together with the U.S., U.Ok. and Canada.
Part of India’s Sikh neighborhood launched the Khalistan motion within the late Seventies, triggering a wave of lethal violence that claimed 1000’s of lives in Punjab, the place Sikhs are the bulk.
While Sikh secessionism has largely died down in India, pro-Khalistan teams have remained energetic internationally.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
