Chandigarh: In a major breakthrough, Papalpreet Singh, a close aide of fugitive Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh, was arrested from Hoshiarpur in Punjab on Monday. Papalpreet was arrested in a joint operation by the Punjab and Delhi Police which also involved their counter-intelligence wings. Papalpreet is believed to be Amritpal’s mentor and is alleged to have links with Pakistan’s ISI. Amritpal and Papalpreet were on the run since March 18, when the Punjab Police launched a crackdown against the Khalistan sympathizer and his associates.
Papalpreet Singh, an aide of Khalistan supporter Amritpal Singh, was arrested from Hoshiarpur in an operation by the Punjab Police and its counter-intelligence unit: Sources pic.twitter.com/viDBYofrNd– ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2023
Who is Papalpreet Singh?
Papalpreet Singh comes from an agricultural family background. She is said to have studied in a convent school and has a PG Diploma. Papalpreet Singh took up political activism in his 20s and joined the Sikh Youth Front and the Sikh Youth Federation (Bhindranwala). Papalpreet, besides expressing his support to the Khalistan movement, had demanded the release of Sikh prisoners lodged in the jail since the 90s.
He hit the headlines during the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa when he read out terrorist Narayan Singh Chaura’s ‘charge sheet’ against the then Parkash Singh Badal government and claimed that “Khalistan is the only solution.” In 2016, he joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and campaigned for Simranjit Singh Mann in Barnala in the 2017 assembly elections. However, Mann lost the battle.
Papalpreet Singh is considered one of the gurus of Amritpal Singh who has been advising him on various issues. He has been closely associated with the fugitive preacher since he returned to India last year and took over the reins of ‘Waris Punjab De’.
Intelligence reports suggest that Papalpreet has links with the ISI and uses its support to leverage the cause of Khalistan in Punjab. He is believed to have helped Amritpal Singh escape after the Punjab Police cracked down on his supporters. In one of the videos, Papalpreet was seen riding a motorcycle with the former pillion rider. According to a PTI report, the two-wheeler was later found abandoned at Phillaur in Jalandhar.
On Papalpreet’s instructions, Amritpal changed his appearance from a radical Sikh preacher to a layman and finally abandoned the motorcycle in a canal in Phillaur.