Amritpal Singh crackdown: Meet Swapan Sharma, IPS officer leading operation against Khalistan sympathiser

Amritpal Singh, the chief of Waris Punjab De chief, has been on the run since March 18. Punjab Police has launched a crackdown on the Khalistan sympathiser. This comes weeks after Amritpal Singh and his supporters stormed the Ajnala police station near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested associate.

Though Amritpal is still absconding, his several aides have been arrested by the Punjab Police. The entire police action against the 30-year-old separatist is being led by IPS Swapna Sharma. But who is Swapna Sharma? Sharma is a 2009 batch IPS officer. He was promoted to the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Punjab just two months back in January this year.

He has served as SSP of Amritsar (Rural). He is originally from Himachal Pradesh. Sharma was born on October 10, 1980, in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.

The entire operation against Amritpal is ongoing under his supervision. Earlier, he had also worked as an officer of the Himachal Administrative Service. He had also worked as BDO of Chaupal. Swapna Sharma's father Colonel Mahesh Sharma is a retired Indian Army officer. Whereas his mother Bina Sharma is a housewife.

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The Punjab government has also invoked National Security Act (NSA) against radical preacher Amritpal. Amritpal Singh was last year anointed the head of Waris Punjab De, which was formed by singer-activist Deep Sandhu who died in February 2022.