CHANDIGARH: Sikh separatist leader and preacher Amritpal Singh has been arrested in Punjab, police force of the northwestern Indian state said Sunday morning.
The 30-year-old was declared a fugitive and had been on the run for more than a month after evading arrest in Punjab on March 18.
Singh was arrested from Rode village in the Moga district at around 6.45 on Sunday morning, Punjab inspector general Sukhchain Singh Gill said at a press conference.
He has been charged under the National Security Act and will be taken to the high-security Dibrugarh jail in Assam state, where some of his supporters have also been kept.
Hours before his arrest, Singh addressed the devotees this morning in Rodewal Gurudwara in Punjab’s Moga.
Reprtedly, Singh came to the Rodewal Gurudwara on Saturday night and himself informed the police about his presence and that he will surrender this morning.
One of his close aides, Papalpreet Singh, was arrested on April 10, in an operation conducted by Punjab Police and its counter-intelligence unit.
The manhunt for Singh
Indian police had launched a manhunt in March to arrest the prominent Sikh leader, suspending mobile and internet services in several parts of Punjab.
Statewide “cordon-and-search operations” were launched against ‘Waris Punjab De’, an organization run by Singh.
During the search for him, Punjab Police claimed arresting hundreds of supporters of the pro-Khalistan leader as well as seizing ammunition and guns.
