Amritpal Singh continues to be on a run, not arrested: Punjab Police

Punjab Police on Saturday said that people from some foreign countries are spreading fake news in connection with radical preacher and pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh, who has been on the run for over a week now.

"We urge people not to believe the fake reports of the arrest of Amritpal Singh that are being widely circulated on social media," ANI quoted Bathinda SSP Gulneet Khurana as saying. He accused "rumour mongers" of spreading fake news about Amritpal Singh's arrest.

He blamed the fake reports on "rumour mongers" based in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. "A few people sitting in the UK, US, and Canada are spreading false news on social media that Amritpal is being tortured (in custody)," the SSP added.

He added, "BSF companies along with police personnel and 140 security personnel from Bahadurgarh are currently deployed in Bathinda to ensure peace."

Earlier in the day, an alert was sounded in Uttarakhand over the possibility of Amritpal Singh entering the state, said Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) V Murugesan.

Murugesan added that he had received inputs from the Punjab Police that the pro-Khalistan leader, who fled Punjab in the wake of the crackdown on Waris Punjab De, may enter Uttarakhand from Haryana. He told ANI that checks and searches are underway and a security alert has gone out in places through which he can enter the state.

The officer added that the district police have also been alerted and vigilance stepped up at the borders.

Last Saturday, the cops had launched a major crackdown against Amritpal Singh and members of 'Waris Punjab De.' The elusive preacher himself, however, gave the police a slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in the Jalandhar district.

Last month, Amritpal and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the Ajnala Police Station on the outskirts of the Amritsar city, clashing with police for the release of one of Amritpal's aide. An FIR dated February 24 stands registered against followers of 'Waris Punjab De', an organisation headed by Amritpal, for the attack on Ajnala Police Station, police had said.

With inputs from agencies