Punjab cops take Papalpreet into custody as NSA detention ends

The Punjab Police on Wednesday arrested Papalpreet Singh, a close aide of Khalistan sympathiser and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, after his year-long detention under the NSA ended at Assam’s Dibrugarh jail.

Soon after his release, Papalpreet was taken into custody in connection with the 2023 Ajnala police station attack case and brought to Amritsar. Maninder Singh, Amritsar (Rural) SSP, confirmed his arrest, stating that he would be produced before the Ajnala subdivisional court on Thursday.

The development paves the way for the release of Amritpal, whose detention under the stringent NSA ends on April 23. He is likely to be arrested in the Ajnala police station attack case soon after his release.

However, the authorities have not confirmed whether Amritpal will be released or face fresh charges. With Papalpreet’s release, Amritpal is now the only detainee remaining in Dibrugarh jail, where he has been held with nine associates since 2023.

Earlier, Varinder Singh, alias Fauji, Basant Singh, Bhagwant Singh, alias Pradhan Mantri Bajeke, Gurmeet Singh Gill, alias Gurmeet Bukkanwala, Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, alias Kulwant Singh, Gurinderpal Singh Aujla, alias Guri Aujla, Harjeet Singh, alias Chacha, and Sarabjeet Singh Kalsi, alias Daljeet Singh Kalsi, were brought back to Punjab.

Papalpreet, arrested in April 2023 from Amritsar’s Kathunangal area during a crackdown on the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, is believed to have played a key advisory role to Amritpal. Known for his involvement in Sikh activism, he has long advocated the Khalistan movement and worked as a freelance journalist. In 2015, he was arrested on sedition charges after a speech at Sarbat Khalsa.

Punjab