Amritpal Singh brought to Dibrugarh jail in Assam amid heavy security

Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh was brought to Assam's Dibrugarh Central jail on Sunday amid high security.

A special flight carrying Amritpal took off at 8.25 am and reached the Dibrugarh Airport at 2.20 pm. He was brought to the Dibrugarh Central Jail, situated 15km away from the airport, by road under heavy security cover.

Soon after his arrest, a video surfaced online in which Amritpal is seen delivering a brief address, indicating that he is surrendering. Another clip showed him sitting before a portrait of Bhindranwale, who was gunned down in Operation Blue Star on June 6 1984.

However, Punjab police countered the preacher's claim that it was a surrender, and said the fugitive was cornered and had no choice but to surrender.

"Acting on specific inputs, a joint operation was conducted by Amritsar police and the intelligence wing of Punjab Police to nab Amrital. He was surrounded from all sides," Inspector General of Police Sukhchain Singh Gill told reporters.

"The Police in uniform did not enter the gurdwara as it was very important to maintain the sanctity of the place," he clarified.

"As police surrounded the area, a message was conveyed to Amritpal that he had no chance of making his escape," Gill said.

In the gurdwara clip, Amritpal recalled that Rode is Bhindranwale's birth place, and the village where his own "dastar bandi" (turban-tying ceremony) took place - a reference to his taking over Waris Punjab De chief.

He claimed there were excesses by the government against Sikhs while he was on the run, appearing to suggest that the security agencies wanted to harass people rather than just arrest him. He said he would have cooperated with them had arrest been their objective. "I have decided to surrender and this arrest is not an end, it is the beginning," he said. In the "court of the Almighty", he said he is not guilty.

Amritpal Singh had been on the run since March 18 when a Punjab police launched massive operation against him and his aides.

The police believe that Amritpal had links with Pakistan spy agency ISI and was making efforts to radicalise the Sikh youth, in an effort to revive the call for a separate nation of 'Khalistan'.

Amritpal Singh, who returned from Dubai last year, took over Waris Punjab De following the death of activist-singer Deep Sandhu.

with PTI inputs