Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday rapped the Punjab State Government over lapses in the operation which was carried out to nab Waris Punjab De Chief Amritpal Singh. Punjab & Haryana High Court was listening to the petition of Habeas Corpus filed by the legal advisor of Waris Punjab De, requesting the court to direct the respondents to produce Amritpal Singh before it. As per reports, during the hearing a bench of Justice NS Shekhawat asked Advocate General Vinod Ghai, "How did he (Amritpal Singh) escape?" Responding to this, the AG said: "We have arrested other accused in the case." On this, the bench further asked how everyone, except Amritpal Singh, has been arrested.
"You have 80,000 police. How has he not been arrested? If he escaped, this is an intelligence failure. The entire police force is after him," noted the bench. In response to this, the AG said: "It happens sometimes. The G-20 summit was also going on." Meanwhile, the High Court appointed Advocate Tanu Bedi as Amicus Curiae in the case and adjourned the hearing for four days. The court also sought a status report sought from Punjab.
Meanwhile, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday addressed the state over the ongoing crackdown against Amritpal Singh. Mann said that his government would take strict action against anyone who tried to disturb the state’s peace and harmony. In his first reaction to the police action, Mann said he received several calls from people praising his government. He also said that Punjab’s peace, harmony, and the country’s progress were his top priorities. “We will not spare any force working against the country, the CM said, adding people have given a responsibility to the AAP by giving it a huge mandate in the elections,” he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab government told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that National Security Act (NSA) has been imposed on Amritpal Singh, the fugitive Khalistani leader.
Amritpal Singh's Wife on Punjab Police radar, 8 NIA teams reach Punjab for investigation
Amritpal Singh's developments
Amritpal managed to slip away from the police dragnet and has been missing from the past 4 days. Many of his associates including his uncle have been arrested and shifted to Assam's Dibrugarh Central Jail. While most of his associates were taken to Assam from Punjab on March 19, his uncle Harjit Singh was taken to Dibrugarh early on March 21, just a day after he surrendered before Jalandhar police on Monday.