Sikh separatist leader arrested by Indian police after weeks on the run

Separatist leader Amritpal Singh has been arrested by Indian police after weeks on the run.

The 30-year-old preacher is a supporter of the Khalistan movement for a separate Sikh homeland and had been on the run since last month.

He captured national attention in February when hundreds of his supporters stormed a police station in Ajnala, a town in Punjab state, with wooden batons, swords and guns to demand the release of a jailed aide.

On Sunday, Punjab state police tweeted that Singh had been arrested in the town of Moga.

Singh reportedly surrendered to police after offering morning prayers at a Sikh shrine before officers arrested him.

Police officer Sukchain Singh Gill said officers had surrounded the local village on intelligence that Singh was in the shrine.

“Relentless pressure built by the police over the past 35 days left Singh with no choice,” he told reporters.

Mr Gill said police did not enter the shrine, suggesting that Singh was taken into custody after he left, but declined to confirm that Singh surrendered to police as claimed by his supporters.

The officer said Singh was flown to Dibrugarh in northeast India where he will be detained until he is taken to court to face charges.

Punjab suffered a bloody insurgency in the 1980s that resulted in the killing of former prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards at her official residence in New Delhi.

Her killing sparked violent rioting by her Hindu supporters against Sikhs in northern India.

Sikhs are a religious minority in India and believe they are discriminated against by the majority of Hindus. Extremists killed more than 3,000 people during the 1980s insurgency in the prosperous farming state – before the insurgency was crushed by Indian forces in 1990.

Punjab borders India-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan. India has accused Pakistan of supporting, training and arming insurgents – which Islamabad denies.

Singh had been declared a fugitive by Indian police, who accused him of creating discord in Punjab state as well as spreading disharmony among people, attempted murder, attacking police personnel and obstructing public servants’ lawful discharge of duty.

Amritpal Singh is the 30-year-old leader of the organisation Waris Punjab De (Heirs of Punjab).

Not much is known about his early life but he moved to Dubai in 2012 to work for his family’s transport business.

He came back to India in 2022 to take over leadership of the group from the actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu who died in a car accident.

Before his death Sidhu is believed to have led a group of farmers to storm the Red Fort in Delhi on the Republic Day of 2022. He was arrested for the action and spent a few months in prison.

Once he was back in Punjab, Singh changed his appearance and started wearing a blue turban, traditional robes and has a long, unshorn beard.

Singh has been accused of using hate speech and his armed supporters have been accused of violence.

He has been outspoken about his support for the cause of Khalistan, the separatist movement calling for a separate homeland/country for people of Sikh faith. As a result of this, his Twitter account was suspended by authorities who have also been watching his activities carefully.

Thousands of paramilitary soldiers have been deployed in the state and have arrested nearly 100 of Singh’s supporters, while his wife was stopped from leaving India last week.

Singh’s speeches have become increasingly popular among supporters of the Khalistan movement, which is banned in India, with officials viewing it as a national security threat.

Singh also heads Waris Punjab De, or Punjab’s Heirs, an organisation that was part of a huge campaign to mobilise farmers against controversial agriculture reforms being pushed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Despite the movement waning in recent years, it still has some support in Punjab and beyond – including in countries like Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, home to a sizable Sikh diaspora.

Meanwhile, supporters of the movement pulled down the Indian flag at the country’s high commission in London last month, before smashing the building’s windows in a show of anger against the move to arrest Singh.

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