Amritpal Singh hid in Jalandhar gurudwara for 45 minutes, changed clothes: Agency Report
The Punjab Police has also released seven pictures of the fugitive self-styled preacher in different attires to help people identify him.Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh spent at least 45 minutes at a gurudwara in Punjab’s Jalandhar city on Saturday during which he changed his clothes and ate ‘langar’ with four of his aides.
Ranjit Singh, the priest of the Nangal gurudwara, told The Indian Express, that he did not know then that Amritpal was wanted and the state police had launched a hunt to nab him.Amritpal and four other men, who reached the gurudwara on Saturday afternoon and left at around 1:45 pm, said that they were going to some programme for which they needed to change their clothes.
“I was surprised but I did what they said and got my son’s clothes. When I heard he was here, I was very worried because I thought his men may have come to break something as they had done in Jalandhar,” the priest said.Before leaving the gurudwara, Amritpal requested the priest to allow him to use his phone stating that he would return it in a while.The priest waited outside the gurdwara for a short while before Amritpal returned his phone and left the premises.
Ranjit realised the seriousness of the situation at around 4 pm and was afraid to inform the police or anyone else for fear of being labelled an accomplice.
The priest’s wife Narinder Kaur told The Tribune that they removed their blue and saffron turbans before leaving the gurudwara and chose common turbans from the house.The Punjab Police action against Amritpal Singh was launched on Saturday. This came weeks after the ‘Waris Punjab De’ members launched an attack on the Anjana Police Station in Punjab.Internet services in Punjab were suspended for three days and were restored only on Tuesday.
Several of Amritpal’s supporters, including his uncle, were taken into custody by the police.The CCTV footage showing Amritpal fleeing on a bike was also released by the police.Meanwhile, the Punjab Police has also released seven pictures of the fugitive self-styled preacher in different attires.
