A massive police operation is underway to nab radical preacher Amritpal Singh. (To file)
Chandīgarh:
Police have arrested a key aide to radical preacher Amritpal Singh for allegedly providing shelter and other forms of assistance to the Khalistan supporter in Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.
Joga Singh, who resides in Ludhiana and runs a “dera” in Pilibhit, was arriving in Punjab from Haryana, a senior police official said on Saturday, adding that police were on his trail.
“Joga Singh was in direct contact with Amritpal Singh. He organized shelter and vehicles for Amritpal Singh. He arranged for him to stay in Pilibhit and then return to Punjab,” Deputy Inspector General (Border Range) Narinder Bhargav told a press conference.
Earlier, police said two other men had been arrested for allegedly harboring Amritpal Singh, who was on the run after police launched a crackdown on him last month.
The arrested men were identified as Rajdeep Singh from Babak village in Hoshiarpur district and Sarbjit Singh from Jalandhar district, police said.
Rajdeep Singh and Sarbjit Singh were both brought before the magistrate on duty on Friday evening and remanded in custody for a day.
Police last month launched a massive crackdown on Amritpal Singh and members of his “Waris Punjab De” group.
The radical preacher, who has not yet been arrested, escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18, changing his vehicle and changing his appearance.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)