Punjab: Ajnala incident could have been avoided…, says Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh. 10 points
- Amritpal also denounced that he does not consider himself a citizen of India calling the passport merely a travel document and said that it does not make him an Indian.
- Here are the key updates from Amritsar.
Thousands of supporters of Amritpal Singh, a Khalistan sympathizer, who held a massive demonstration in Amritsar to protest against the arrest of his aide Lovepreet Singh Toofan. The supporters Lovepreet Singh Toofan was released after clash with police personnel at the gate of Ajnala Police station in Amritsar. The supporters holding swords and guns in their hands broke through police barricades erected outside Police Station. Punjab Police had said on Friday that the demonstrators had used the holy Guru Granth Sahib as a shield and attacked police personnel in a cowardly manner, leaving six of them injured. Lovepreet Toofan was released after talks with the police.
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On 16 February, a case was registered in Ajnala against Amritpal and his 30 supporters for allegedly kidnapping and thrashing Barinder Singh, a resident of Chamkaur Sahib in Rupnagar district. Singh, in his complaint, had told police that Amritpal's associates had allegedly abducted him from Ajnala and took him to an unknown place where he was brutally thrashed. Although Toofan has been charged with kidnapping, his family maintained that he was innocent and has been wrongfully linked to the case. They have acknowledged that Toofan was involved in volunteer work with Amritpal's group, but dispute his involvement in the kidnapping.
Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh has said that the incident concerning Ajnala police station in Amritsar on February 23 could have been avoided if police were alert and his aide Lovepreet Singh Toofan had not been arrested.
Amritpal also denounced that he does "not" consider himself a citizen of India calling the passport merely a "travel document" and said that it does not make him an Indian.
When ANI asked about the Khalistan slogans being reported in his addresses, he said that Khalistan is a "very normal discussion" in Punjab. He drew a parallel between the idea of 'Hindu Rashtra' and 'Khalistan' and said that the former is exclusive while the latter is "pure". "That's what the problem is. When you are not Punjabi and do not visit the state very frequently, and when you see everything through media, it looks very scary. But it is not. Khalistan is a very normal discussion here. When Supreme Court says anybody can say Khalistan Zindabad, it's not a crime. An MP got elected saying 'Khalistan Zindabad' from Sangrur," he said.
'Waris Punjab De' was founded by activist Deep Sidhu, who died in a road accident in February last year.
The Congress on Saturday accused the BJP-led Centre and the AAP government in Punjab of being responsible for the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state and alleged they were working in collusion.
Shiromani Akali Dal Saturday slammed the AAP government for not taking action against those who stormed the Ajnala Police Station and injured six policemen in the following ruckus. Demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the DGP, he said that when police stations and police personnel were not safe in the state, what can a common man expect from the government?
The police who were injured in the incident were Amritsar Rural SSP Satinder Singh, SP D Jugraj Singh and SP Tejbir S Hundal. The three police officers were present in Ajnala when supporters of Amritpal Singh attacked the police station and were seriously injured. Speaking on the incident, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said those who took the Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib to a police station as a shield cannot be called the 'waris' (heir) of Punjab. "Those who take the Guru Granth Sahib to police stations as a shield cannot be called 'waris' of Punjab and Punjabiyat in any way," Mann said in a tweet in Punjabi.
However, the CM had dismissed questions on the clash in the state and said, "You have the wrong information. Law and order in Punjab is under control and Punjab Police is capable. Bullets were fired at social bonding in Punjab for 10 years. But people want to live together. Ours is a peaceful state."
Veteran journalist and former MLA Kanwar Sandhu has said the situation can get better in the state if Punjab Police and AAP government in the state take appropriate steps. Talking to ANI, he also said that policing was a serious business, especially in a border state like Punjab, and the state should have a fully dedicated Home Minister. "There is no talk towards Khalistan... I think it is too premature to jump to that conclusion. Whatever happened in Ajnala, I think it is worrisome. It seems like the police were not ready or they had no idea this was going to happen. I wish the police were well prepared," Sandhu told ANI.
Former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Amarjit Singh Dulat has also come and warned against misgovernance in the "sensitive border state" of Punjab and asserted that it can't be "governed from Delhi". "Though Bhagwant Mann (Punjab CM) is a decent person, he is not competent… (Arvind) Kejriwal (Delhi CM) can't run Punjab," the former RAW director said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Business NewsNewsIndiaPunjab: Ajnala incident could have been avoided…, says Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh. 10 points
First Published:26 Feb 2023, 10:35 AM IST
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