Amritpal sought to encash on Deep Sidhu's popularity, latter had blocked him. Here's why
2 min read 26 Mar 2023, 09:53 PM ISTDeep Sidhu's family has refused to accept Amritpal Singh as the heir to the extremist outfit ‘Waris De Punjab’.
PremiumRadical preacher and fugitive Amritpal Singh had wished to create an extremist outfit ‘Warris Panj-ab De’, phonetically sounding similar to the one created by late actor Deep Sidhu's brother ‘Waris Punjab De’.
In a report, news agency PTI has stated that Deep Sidhu's family has refused to accept Amritpal Singh as the heir to the extremist outfit ‘Waris De Punjab’.
In documents seized during the crackdown ont he pro Khalistan preacher, the Punjab Police has stated that Amritpal Singh was planning to encash Deep Sidhu's extreme popularity when the latter failed to take control of ‘Waris Punjab De’ before his death in 2022.
Amritpal has been on the run since 18 March when the Punjab police and RAF launched a crackdown against the elusive preacher, who gave the police the slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Punjab's Jalandhar district.
Here are the big points to this story
Creation of Waris Punjab De
Deep Sidhu's brother Mandeep created an organisation in Fathehgarh Sahib on 4 July 2022, in accordance with Deep's desires to promote 'Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan', spread awareness about pollution-related issues, draw drug-addicted youths towards sports, and aid people during natural disasters, among other goals.
It was established with strict regulations in place, including the roles and election of office-bearers.
Mandeep stated that the organisation was created to fulfill his late brother's vision of serving the people of Punjab.
Amritpal returns and demands Waris De Punjab papers
When Amritpal returned from overseas in August 2022 and demanded the papers for 'Waris Punjab De', Mandeep refused to hand them over.
The Sidhu family refused to acknowledge Amritpal as the heir to Deep's ideology and said the Deep Sidhu had blocked his number before his tragic road accident in February 2022, PTI reported.
‘Warris Panj-Aab De’ created
A new organisation called 'Warris Panj-Aab De' surfaced, with Deep Sidhu's official Facebook page linked to it. It was registered in Moga district, with its inception date set being mentioned as 15 December 2021.
The Facebook page amassed a huge following, causing confusion among people, who assumed that Amritpal had taken over the organisation created by Deep Sidhu.
Amritpal backdated documents to amass followers
Documents suggest that the establishment of 'Warris Panj-Aab De' was potentially backdated. The organisation's registered address was "Guru Nanak Furniture Store", owned by Amritpal's close associate Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwala, in Duneke village in Moga district.
Bukkanwala has been taken into custody and charged under the National Security Act and shifted to Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam. During questioning, Gurmeet claimed that the organisation was established much later, and some contacts were used to register it backdated from Moga district.
The Moga-based organisation did not mention Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. It focussed rather on real estate and providing security at religious functions.
(With inputs from PTI)
