With Centre set to get cracking, Amritpal Singh’s days in the open are numbered

Bhindranwale was accused of killing a journalist. While he was booked, he got away with him being proven innocent. That made him a hero. Amritpal Singh should not go the same way

Amritpal Singh's streak of terrorising Punjab may soon end with the central agencies upping their radar on the radical Sikh leader.

The agencies are gathering more information about the pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal and are in the process of preparing a dossier on him. His hate speeches, acts of violence and demands for a separate nation are likely to make it to the dossier.

An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that the very fact that he dresses and acts like terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale is a matter of concern. The official also said that the situation is not yet out of control in Punjab, but the seeds of hate are being sowed, which is not a good sign.

However it is not right to ignore the situation for too long as this is exactly what happened in the case of Bhindranwale. Amritpal has been sent to Punjab with a purpose and he is all out to achieve it.

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah sounded confident that the Centre would beat down the movement. He said in a recent interview that that this movement will not flourish. We are keeping a close watch and are in touch with the Punjab government.

These are early days and it takes time to prepare a dodgier said another official. What we are more worried about is the support that is coming from those based in countries like UK and Canada. They are the ideological support and cause more damage to the eco-system. There is a need to get into the funding of elements such as Amritpal. To prepare a fool-proof case, there is a need to have a dossier which is water tight in nature. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) too is probing cases relating to the gangster-terrorist nexus. This is an important probe as it seeks to expose the ISI's evil designs of trying to revive the Khalistan movement in Punjab with the help of gangsters.

The experts however warn that in the bid to wait for the Central agencies to spring into action, the Punjab police must not become too complacent. Let us take a look at a case from the time of the days of Bhindranwale. He was instrumental in the killing of a journalist. He was declared innocent in that case, following which he became a hero.

The same should not happen in the case of Amritpal Singh. The reaction to the violent protests by Singh's followers was a bad one in terms of messaging, positioning and national security. Following the violent protests, the Punjab police release a close aide of Singh, Lovepreet Toofan. Such actions do not send the right signals to the security mechanism or public at large. The use of force by these pro-Khalistan elements resulted in the release of a pro-Khalistan element. This is not good messaging.