Don't spread fake news: Punjab cops deny report on Amritpal's surrender

The Punjab Police has requested the public not to believe in rumours and fake news about the surrender of pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh.

Responding to a media report on Friday, Punjab Police, in a tweet, said, "This is fake news and factually incorrect. Please fact-check the news before sharing. Dont spread rumours and fake news."

Meanwhile, all leaves of Punjab cops have been cancelled until April 14, due to high alert in the state for Baishakhi.

Until April 14, the leaves of all gazetted and non-gazetted officers have been cancelled, Punjab DGP said in a message to the officers, according to reports.

Only the Akal Takht chief can decide whether to call such a congregation after consulting with Sikh scholars and intellectuals, top gurdwara body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said following Amritpal's request.

"It is the personal wish of Amritpal Singh. It is the sole prerogative of the Akal Takht jathedar to call or not call a 'Sarbat Khalsa'. The jathedar would see what needs to be done under the prevailing circumstances," SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal told news agency PTI.

The hunt for Amritpal

The radical Sikh preacher remains untraceable since March 18, when he gave the slip to a police dragnet in Jalandhar, switching cars and changing appearances.

The trigger for the crackdown was the storming of the Ajnala police station last month by him and his supporters - some of them brandishing firearms - to secure the release of an arrested man. Six police personnel were injured.

There has been a lot of CCTV footage has been released, which shows Amritpal in various locations, including Haryana and Delhi. The latest information is that Amritpal is back in Punjab and is likely to surrender before the Baisakhi festival.

Going by the contents of the video, it is clear that Amritpal Singh wants to create chaos in Punjab. His urging of people to come out in large numbers is an indication that he wants to foment trouble in the state before he either surrenders or is arrested.

He wants to create sympathy for himself on religious lines and hence is calling on a large number of people, so that he could surrender in style.

The cops had said that it had released 197 persons of the total 353 taken into preventive custody in the apprehension of breach of law and order.

Meanwhile, Punjab Police is on alert amid the massive manhunt launched to catch the fugitive Amritpal Singh.