Who is 'Waris Punjab De' head Amritpal Singh? A massive demonstration by the self-styled preacher's supporters turned violent as sword and gun wielding agitators clashed with the police and overran barricades at Ajnala police station in Amritsar.
Unreal scenes surfaced from Punjab’s Amritsar on Thursday as followers of ‘Waris Punjab De’ group chief Amritpal Singh clashed with police. Hundreds of people had gathered near the Ajnala Police Station in Amritsar for a protest. However, the massive demonstration turned violent as sword and gun wielding agitators clashed with the police and overran barricades. Force has been deployed in heavy numbers to control the situation.
What is ‘Waris Punjab De’? Who is Amritpal Singh?
‘Waris Punjab De’ is a ‘social organisation’ founded by actor-activist, late Deep Sidhu. 30-year-old Amritpal Singh is the second leader of the group who became the chief after Sidhu’s death in a road accident in February last year. Dubai-returned Amritpal has been pretty active in Punjab since becoming 'Waris Punjab De' chief. He claims to represent the Sikh community.
Amritpal is often escorted by armed supporters. The self-styled Sikh preacher recently stirred a political row in Punjab with controversial remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Singh reportedly said that HM Shah’s “fate will be similar to that of former prime minister Indira Gandhi”, who was assassinated by her security guards in 1984.
The remarks prompted the BJP to slam the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, accusing it of being “soft” on Amritpal Singh’s “radical activities”. The BJP had also questioned the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), asking if it would “stand up and condemn” Amritpal’s remark.
Amritpal Singh recently married UK-based NRI Kirandeep Kaur in a simple ceremony at Jallupur Khera, his native village in Amritsar.
Reason behind clashes in Amritsar
Amritpal Singh’s supporters came out for a massive demonstration to protest against the arrest of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ head’s close aide Lovepreet Singh, alias Toofan, who hails from Gurdaspur’s Tibri village. The Amritpal aide was arrested by the Amritsar police in a case of alleged kidnapping and assault of a Punjab youth. Lovepreet Singh’s family had accused the police of having falsely implicated him in the case.
The resident of Chamkaur Sahib in Ropar district had accused Amritpal Singh and his aides of allegedly kidnapping him from outside Damdami Taksal at Ajnala late on Wednesday. He was allegedly taken to a tubewell in Jandiala in an SUV. Amritpal Singh and his armed supporters were present at the spot, the complainant alleged, claiming that he was assaulted and his purse and phone were taken away. The police had registered a case against Amritpal Singh, 4 other known men, and 20 unknown people, the Tribune reported.
‘Waris Punjab De’ group was also in the headlines last year when Amritpal Singh’s supporters burnt chairs at Jalandhar’s Model Town gurdwara, saying that keeping sofas and chairs in gurudwaras was against the tenets of Sikhism.
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(Inputs from agencies)
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 "Amritsar unrest explained: Who is Amritpal Singh? Why did his supporters clash with police?")
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