Amritpal Singh, the fugitive leader of Waris Punjab De, allegedly underwent cosmetic surgery in Georgia to resemble Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale before returning to India in August 2022, intelligence sources have revealed, as reported by The Indian Express.
Singh’s close aides, who are currently lodged in the Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam, disclosed this information during questioning by Intelligence officials. Singh reportedly spent two months in Georgia for the surgery, a claim that officials are verifying.
Following the crackdown on the radical preacher and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh and his organisation on March 18, eight of his close aides, including his uncle Harjit Singh and Daljit Singh Kalsi, have been arrested and taken to the Dibrugarh Central Jail. Police have also invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against them.
A team of Intelligence officials went to the jail in Assam and questioned them.
They are probing how Amritpal Singh suddenly appeared in August last year, following the death of actor and activist Deep Sidhu, and took over the reins of the organisation that he flouted on September 30, 2021, ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections.
Singh was reportedly in contact with Jaswant Singh Rode, brother of Khalistani operative Lakhbir Singh Rode, and militant Paramjit Singh Pamma while he was in Dubai, said sources. The organisation was found to have received funds from Pakistan, which was also used to pay off personal debts, they added.
Singh has remained untraceable since March 18, when he gave police the slip in Jalandhar, switching cars and changing appearances.
The trigger for Punjab police acting on Amritpal Singh began when the radical preacher along with his supporters, some brandishing firearms, had stormed the Ajnala police station in February, to secure the release of a kidnapping accused. Six police personnel were injured in the clashes.