Before fugitive Amritpal Singh's uncle Harjit Singh and associate Harpreet Singh surrendered, they had forcefully entered the house of the sarpanch of Udhowal village near Mehatpur and stayed there after threatening his family.


Based on sarpanch Manpreet Singh's complaint, the police have now also booked Amritpal, Harjit and Harpreet on charges of house trespass with criminal intent, wrongful confinement and provisions of the Arms Act.

Before being arrested in the wee hours of Monday, Harjit was reportedly hiding in the house of sarpanch of Uddowal village Manpreet Singh. Manpreet told the police that Harjit had forcefully entered his house and taken shelter at gunpoint. He said Harjit had chosen to stay put in the bedroom since Saturday so that he could watch TV to know about the latest reports.It was from the same room that Harjit kept calling mediapersons informing them about the surrender. He had reportedly done this apprehending that he could be killed in an encounter.

Amritpal was reportedly travelling with Harjit in a Mercedes car on March 18 when police started pursuing them. Later, Amritpal moved to a different vehicle, while Harjit and the driver remained moved ahead in the Mercedes. In his complaint to the police, 43-year-old Manpreet Singh said on March 18, Harjit Singh along with Harpreet Singh, who is said to be the driver of Amritpal, entered his house forcibly and took his family, including his brother and latter’s wife, hostage at gunpoint. Manpreet said he was not present in the house at the time and was out in the village to carry on some development work.

“My brother called me at around noon and told me that two persons came to their house and threatened him to open the door. When he opened the door, they forcibly drove the Mercedes car inside through the main gate. Immediately after alighting from the vehicle, they identified themselves as Harjit Singh and Harpreet Singh, uncle and driver of Amritpal, respectively,” said the sarpanch, adding that “Harjit Singh pointed his revolver towards my brother and asked him to open a room for them”. The sarpanch said that he soon returned home but did not share the details with anyone fearing for his family. “They threatened my family with dire consequences if we revealed about them to anybody,” the sarpanch added.