Chandigarh:

Harpreet Singh, brother of jailed radical Sikh preacher and Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh who once ran an anti-drug campaign, along with his associate Lovepreet Singh was arrested by the Punjab Police in a drug case and their dope test was positive, officials said on Friday.

Later, they were sent to a 14-day judicial custody, despite the demand for police custody. They were arrested by Jalandhar (Rural) Police from Phillaur town for carrying four grams of ice drug (methamphetamine).

Another person Sandeep Arora, who is believed to be the supplier of the drug to them, was also arrested.

Confirming the development, Senior Superintendent of Police Ankur Gupta told the media that an FIR has been lodged against the accused.

“Three people identified as Lovepreet, Harpreet and Sandeep Arora have been arrested. They were arrested last (Thursday) night. Four grams of ice have been recovered,” he said.

He said that the dope test of Harpreet Singh, 33, and Lovepreet Singh was positive. The drug was purchased from Sandeep Arora, a Ludhiana-based alleged supplier of drugs.

Both Harpreet Singh and Lovepreet Singh belong to Amritsar. The drug was recovered from them during the checking of the car in which the duo was travelling.

A senior police official said both the accused were caught consuming drugs in the car. “A lighter, half-burnt Rs 20 note and foil papers being used by the accused for consuming drugs were recovered from the spot. The contraband was recovered from the pocket of Harpreet Singh,” he said.

Denying charges framed against his son, Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh has sought a fair probe into the allegations of drug abuse by his son Harpreet Singh.

“This is a conspiracy against our family and supporters of Amritpal Singh. We had apprehended that the government could hatch a conspiracy to defame us. This is aimed at derailing the mission of Amritpal Singh of saving youngsters and creating hurdles in the release of the Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners who have been in jails for the past three decades or more),” he said.

Amritpal Singh, who once gained attention for his anti-drug campaigns, has been detained under the National Security Act (NSA) in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail. Last week, he along with Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid took the oath as Lok Sabha MPs after they were granted parole.

Thirty-one-year-old Sikh radical Amritpal Singh, head of Waris Punjab De, won the Khadoor Sahib seat by 1,97,120 votes over his nearest rival, Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira.

During election campaigning, parents and supporters of Amritpal Singh’s had demanded his release from jail, highlighting his anti-drug crusade.

They had questioned the government’s decision to put Amritpal Singh behind bars, claiming he was just campaigning against drugs and organising Sikh initiation ceremonies.

He was arrested from Moga’s Rode village on April 23 last year after he and his supporters had barged into a police station breaking barricades, brandishing swords and weapons, and clashed with police personnel in an attempt to free one of his aides from custody.

Rode is the native village of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Amritpal Singh had tried to pose himself as Bhindranwale 2.0.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Jailed radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh and Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, who were granted parole to take oath as members of the Lok Sabha, were sworn in as MPs on Friday amid heavy deployment of security personnel in and around the Parliament complex.

While Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, was in Delhi’s Tihar jail in a terror funding case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Singh was lodged in a prison in Assam’s Dibrugarh district for offences under the National Security Act.

They were brought to the Parliament complex by security personnel this morning.

The MPs-elect took oath in the chamber of the Lok Sabha Speaker after completing formalities, a source said.

Singh, 31, and Rashid, 56, won the recent Lok Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib in Punjab and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, respectively, as Independents while being incarcerated.

They could not take oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha on June 24 and 25 along with the other winning candidates.

For taking oath, Rashid was granted a two-hour custody parole, excluding the travel time from Tihar to Parliament, and Singh a four-day custody parole, beginning July 5, in view of the travel from Assam to Delhi and back.

Their parole orders stated that during their period of temporary release, they can neither speak to or address the media on any issue or make any statements. Their family members also cannot make a statement in any form of media.

While Singh, a Khalistani sympathiser who heads the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, has been allowed to meet his family in Delhi, Rashid’s family had permission only to attend his oath-taking. The parole for Rashid, who has been in jail since 2019 after his arrest in 2017, was granted by a court in Delhi and that of Singh by the district magistrate of Amritsar from where he was arrested in April 2023 for barging into a police station in February and clashing with police personnel in a bid to free one of his aides from custody.

Both Singh and Rashid are to be accompanied by security personnel at all times during their parole periods, the orders stated.

The Delhi Police and Punjab Police were directed to coordinate with the secretary general of the Lok Sabha for procedures inside the Parliament complex.

The name of Rashid, a former MLA, cropped up during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, who the NIA had arrested for allegedly funding terrorist groups and separatists in the Kashmir valley.

The NIA had filed a charge sheet against several individuals, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in the case. Malik was awarded life imprisonment by a trial court in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to the charges. Singh styled himself after Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and is in jail along with nine of his associates under the National Security Act. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi/ Chandigarh:

Jailed radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh and Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid are set to take oath as Lok Sabha members on Friday, subject to some conditions in their parole orders.

While Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, is in Delhi’s Tihar jail in a terror funding case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Singh is lodged in a prison in Assam’s Dibrugarh district for offences under the National Security Act.

Singh, 31, and Rashid, 56, won the recent Lok Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib in Punjab and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, respectively, as Independents while being incarcerated.

They could not take oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha on June 24 and 25 along with the other winning candidates.

For taking oath, Rashid has been granted a two-hour custody parole, excluding the travel time from Tihar to Parliament, and Singh a four-day custody parole, beginning July 5, as he will be flown in from Assam to Delhi and back. During their parole periods, they can neither speak to or address the media on any issue or make any statements. Their family members also cannot make a statement in any form of media, according to their respective orders.

While Singh, a Khalistani sympathiser who heads the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, has been allowed to meet his family in Delhi, Rashid’s family can only attend his oath taking. The parole for Rashid, who has been in jail since 2019 after his arrest in 2017, was granted by a court in Delhi and that of Singh by the district magistrate of Amritsar from where he was arrested in April 2023 for barging into a police station in February and clashing with police personnel in a bid to free one of his aides from custody.

Both Singh and Rashid accompanied by security personnel at all times during their parole periods.

Singh will “not enter the territorial jurisdiction of any place other than New Delhi during the period of temporary release”, his parole order stated.

“Amritpal Singh or any of his relatives shall not be permitted to videograph any statement of Amritpal and/or circulate any such statement in any electronic form,” according to the order.

He will also “refrain from doing any action or making any statement that is prejudicial to national security”, it stated .

“The relatives of Amritpal, as defined under Section 2 (c) of the Punjab Detenue (Condition of Detention) Order, 1981, shall be allowed to meet him during the period he is housed in New Delhi,” the order for Singh stated.

The Delhi Police and Punjab Police have been directed to coordinate with the secretary general of the Lok Sabha for procedures inside the Parliament complex.

The name of Rashid, a former MLA, cropped up during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, who the NIA had arrested for allegedly funding terrorist groups and separatists in the Kashmir valley.

The NIA had filed a charge sheet against several individuals, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in the case. Malik was awarded life imprisonment by a trial court in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to the charges. Singh styled himself after slain Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and is in jail along with nine of his associates under the National Security Act.

Besides them, TMC’s Shatrughan Sinha is also yet to be sworn in as member of the Lower of House of Parliament.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

Radical preacher and Khadoor Sahib MP-elect Amritpal Singh could not take oath as a member of Parliament as he is in jail in Assam, detained under the National Security Act.

Twelve other MP-elects from Punjab were administered oath in Parliament on Tuesday. Punjab has 13 Lok Sabha constituencies.

After the Congress’ Gurjeet Singh Aujla took oath in Parliament, Amritpal Singh’s name was called out but he was not present.

Similarly, Engineer Rashid, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Baramulla and is lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail in a case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), could not take the oath on Monday.

Singh wrote to the Punjab government on June 11, seeking temporary release from detention to take oath as an MP, according to his counsel Imaan Singh Khara.

However, the procedure requires him to get permission from court.

Tarsem Singh, the radical preacher’s father, said the family has no information on the government’s response to the letter.

Singh, the chief of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, is currently lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail along with nine associates under the NSA.

He had contested the Lok Sabha elections as an independent and polled 4,04,430 votes. He defeated Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira by a margin of 1,97,120 votes.

Recently, Singh’s detention was extended by a year from April 23. The Punjab government had issued the extension order on June 3, a day before the Lok Sabha election results came out.

Singh, who styled himself after Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Rode village in Punjab’s Moga on April 23 last year following an over a month-long manhunt. He had escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18, switching vehicles and changing appearances.

Singh and his associates were booked in several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jailed separatist Amritpal Singh, who is contesting from the Khadoor Sahib seat in Punjab as an Independent candidate, has been allotted the poll symbol of “‘mike’.

He was among the 169 Independent contestants, out of a total of 328 candidates who have been allotted election symbols.

Amritpal, the chief of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, is lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act.

Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, who is contesting from the Faridkot (reserve) constituency as an Independent, has been allotted the poll symbol of ‘Ganna Kisan’ (sugarcane farmer). Khalsa is the son of Beant Singh, who was one of the assassins of late prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, who were Mrs Gandhi’s bodyguards, killed her on October 31, 1984, at her residence.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sibin C on Sunday said 328 candidates contesting for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab have been allotted election symbols by the district election officers as per the instructions of the Election Commission of India.

Elections symbols allotted to Independent candidates included harmonium, dumbbells, apple, tongs, hockey and ball, stool, ship, gas cylinder, battery torch, almirah, computer, batsman, bat, truck, cot, cauliflower, petrol pump, television, laptop, auto rickshaw, pressure cooker, plastering trowel, flute, diamond, road roller, letterbox, chimney and sewing machine.

The Punjab CEO said 26 candidates, including 14 Independents are contesting from Gurdaspur, 18 Independents out of 30 contestants in Amritsar and there are 18 Independents out of 27 candidates in the Khadoor Sahib seat.

Out of 20 candidates in Jalandhar, eight are Independents while there are four Independents out of 16 candidates in Hoshiarpur.

In Anandpur Sahib, there are 13 Independents out of total 28 candidates, and there are 26 Independents out of 43 candidates in Ludhiana.

In Fatehgarh Sahib, out of total 14 candidates, seven are Independents and of total 28 candidates in Faridkot, 12 are Independents.

A total of 29 candidates, including 17 independents, are contesting from Ferozepur.

Of 18 candidates in Bathinda, eight are Independents and of 23 candidates in Sangrur, nine are Independents.

There are 15 Independents out of 26 candidates contesting in Patiala.

Polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Separatist and “Waris Punjab De” chief Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh Jail, approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday seeking temporary release to file his nomination to contest the Lok Sabha polls.

The separatist Sikh preacher plans to contest as an independent candidate from Punjab’s Sri Khadoor Sahib constituency that goes to poll on June 1.

In his petition, Singh sought an order to be released for seven days so he could file his nomination for the polls before the deadline ends on May 14. He has also sought directions to the jail authorities to make necessary arrangements for him to complete the paperwork including getting his photograph clicked and opening a new bank account.

“The petitioner is a citizen of India and an elector from Khadoor Sahib Constituency and therefore is qualified for contesting the elections,” the petition said.

The petition also mentions that Singh’s father Tarsem Singh has written letters to Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer as well as Amritsar’s District Magistrate to provide guidelines for him to file his nomination.

Singh, in his petition, alleged that even though the Punjab poll chief had written a letter seeking necessary action to facilitate his nomination, the “State of Punjab and District Magistrate, Amritsar have deliberately not issued any further instructions in order to delay and make sure that the petitioner is not able to file his nomination to contest Lok Sabha Election.”

Singh was arrested in April last year and detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) after his supporters barged into a police station in Punjab’s Ajnala and clashed with police over the release of one of his aides.

Singh has styled himself after Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and was arrested in Moga after dodging police by switching vehicles and changing appearances for over a month.

Chandigarh:

Separatist Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in a jail in Assam under the National Security Act, will fight the Lok Sabha polls from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib seat as an Independent candidate, his counsel claimed on Wednesday.

However, his father, Tarsem Singh, said he would comment on the matter only after meeting his son on Thursday while asserting that Amritpal Singh had earlier not shown any interest in joining politics.

Amritpal Singh’s legal counsel Rajdev Singh Khalsa claimed that he met the separatist in Dibrugarh jail on Wednesday and requested him to contest the polls.

“I met bhai sahab (Amritpal Singh) in Dibrugarh central jail today and during the meeting, I requested bhai sahab that in the interests of ‘Khalsa Panth’, he should fight elections this time from Khadoor Sahib to become a member of parliament.

“Bhai sahab accepted my request in the Panthic interests… He will fight as an Independent candidate,” claimed Khalsa.

Amritpal Singh, chief of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, was arrested in April last year and the stringent NSA was invoked against him.

He along with nine of his associates is currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail.

Amritpal Singh, who styled himself after dead Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Moga’s Rode village on April 23 last year following a more than one-month-long manhunt.

He had escaped the police in Jalandhar district in March last year, switching vehicles and changing appearances.

The Punjab Police had launched the crackdown after the February 23 Ajnala incident last year in which Amritpal Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of Lovepreet Singh Toofan, one of his aides.

He and his associates had been booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempts to murder, attacks on police personnel, and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Guwahati:

The superintendent of the Dibrugarh Central Jail was arrested Thursday night over a major prison breach last month, in which several electronic gadgets were seized from the inmates belonging to the separatist group ‘Waris Punjab De’.

Separatist Amritpal Singh and his nine associates have been lodged in this prison since last year.

A spy camera, a smartphone, a keypad phone, pen drives, Bluetooth headphones and speakers, a smartwatch, and several other things were recovered from the cell where they were kept last month.

Nipen Das, superintendent of the jail, has been arrested for breaching the jail manual. He has been charged with the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Assam Prisons Act, said Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police VV Rakesh Reddy.

“We found electronic devices in the cell of Amritpal Singh and his nine associates recently. During the investigation, we found enough evidence against the superintendent of Dibrugarh Central Jail Nipen Das. We have found prima facie evidence against him,” he said.

On April 23, 2023, Amritpal Singh was brought to the Dibrugarh Central Jail after the Punjab Police arrested him from the state’s Moga district after several weeks of manhunt.

The separatist was charged under the stringent National Security Act or NSA. His nine associates have also been charged under the NSA.

The Dibrugarh prison, built in 1859-60, is one of the oldest and most high-security jails in the Northeast.

Dibrugarh:

The superintendent of Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam was arrested on Friday over the seizure of electronic gadgets, including a smartphone, from the possession of inmates belonging to separatist group ‘Waris Punjab De’, police said.

The jail official was arrested early in the morning for “laxity” and is currently at Dibrugarh Sadar Police Station, an officer said. He said the arrest was made in connection with the seizure of electronic gadgets cells of the National Security Act (NSA) detenues in the jail last month.

Among the gadgets seized from the possession of the inmates belonging to the pro-Khalistani outfit were a smartphone along with a SIM card, a keypad phone, a TV remote with keyboard, a spy-camera pen, pendrives, a bluetooth headphone, and speakers.

“Reference NSA Detenues at Dibrugarh Jail, Assam-On receipt of information about unauthorised activities taking place in NSA cell, additional CCTV cameras were installed in the public area of NSA block,” Director General of Police GP Singh had posted on X.

Further, lawful action and steps are being taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, he added.

Ten members of the pro-Khalistani outfit, including its top leader Amritpal Singh and one of his uncles, are jailed in Dibrugarh since March 19 last year after they were arrested under the NSA from different parts of Punjab following a crackdown on the outfit.

Multi-tier security arrangements were put in place in the jail after the members of the radical outfit were brought there from Punjab. Additional CCTV cameras were installed and all faulty cameras were either replaced or repaired.

The Dibrugarh prison is one of the oldest and most high-security jails in the Northeast. It was constructed in 1859-60.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)