'What were cops doing, how could Amritpal Singh escape?' HC pulls up Punjab govt

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday pulled up Punjab police and asked them to submit a status report in their operation against Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh.

"When there was a threat to the security of the country, what was the government doing till now? They were roaming around with weapons. How did he manage to escape despite so many police," the high court said.

"What are 80,000 police doing when the country's security is in danger?" the court asked.

The state government responded to the High Court saying it is trying its best to nab Amritpal Singh.

The court noted that this is an intelligence failure of the state's police.

The Punjab government also informed the court that National Security Act (NSA) has been imposed on Amritpal Singh, the fugitive Khalistani leader.

The court's remarks come amid the Punjab Police action against Amritpal Singh and members of his outfit 'Waris Punjab De'.

The Punjab government had on Saturday launched a massive crackdown against Amritpal Singh. A total of 114 arrests have been made in the case so far.

The Punjab Police crackdown on WPD began weeks after Amritpal and his supporters stormed the Ajnala police station near Amritsar to secure the release of an arrested associate.

The episode raised fears over the possibility of the return of Khalistani militancy to the state that borders Pakistan.

WPD was formed by singer-activist Deep Sandhu. Amritpal took over as its chief a month after his death last year.