Trouble seems to be mounting upon Waris Punjab De Chief Amritpal Singh. Amritpal Singh who has been declared as a fugitive on Saturday is on the run and the Punjab Police are on a manhunt to nab him. Amritpal Singh is a pro-Khalistan leader who is the chief of Waris Punjab De, an organization founded by late Punjabi singer Deep Sidhu who was accused in Republic Day violence at Red Fort. Punjab Police's crackdown on Amritpal Singh and his associates was launched on Saturday with 100s of Police officials arresting his associates and in pursuit to nab him. Now, sources in the known developments has revealed that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is mulling to put Amritpal Singh's organization under the UAPA list. If the Centre gives a go ahead, then Amritpal Singh's organization Waris Punjab De will be banned in India and it will fall under 'terror organizations'.
It is pertinent to mention here that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann after the Ajnala Clash had addressed the media and pointed out foreign funding including Pakistan in radical groups. During the conference, Mann had said, "Do you consider 1000 people, Punjab? It's just a few people funded by foreign, by Pakistan...Their masters want to disturb Punjab." However, no charges have been finalized yet. True Scoop News is yet to get official information from the Police and the government over the charges likely to be put on Amritpal Singh.
Apart from Mann's revelation, it has also been said that India's Most Wanted and Khalistani separatist terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode has been linked to Waris Punjab De and its chief Amritpal Singh. It is pertinent to mention here that Lakhbir Singh Rode who currently heads the banned International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) is suspected to be living in Lahore, Pakistan. It is said that Rode's banned organization gets the backing Pakistan's secret services ISI and therefore Amritpal Singh's organization has been accused of receiving foreign funding including the ISI. In fact, DIG Jalandhar Swapan Sharma addressing the media on Sunday said that Amritpal Singh has links with ISI. He further stated that Amritpal was making his own private army named Anandpur Khalsa Army (AKF) . Notably, the arms confiscated from Amritpal's associate has initials of AKF.
Union home minister Amit Shah, too, during a meeting with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Maan on March 2 discussed the issue and assured all help in the form of additional forces. A repost suggests that Avtar Singh Khanda, a UK-based Sikh radical and the vice-president of Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann), is a close associate of Khalistani terrorist Jagtar Singh Tara and acted as the “main handler of Amritpal Singh and the brains behind his meteoric rise”.
What is UAPA List of MHA?
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is an Indian law aimed at prevention of unlawful activities associations in India. Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India. The most recent amendment of the law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 (UAPA 2019) has made it possible for the Union Government to designate individuals as terrorists without following any formal judicial process.