Amritpal Singh, a radical Sikh preacher who has been in hide-and-seek mode with the police for more than 10 days, reportedly returned to Punjab and intends to surrender, according to police sources.
The Khalistani preacher, who advocates for a separate homeland for Sikhs and is wanted in connection with an armed raid on a police station last month, was said to be travelling to Amritsar through the villages of Hoshiarpur when the Punjab Police received information about his whereabouts, sources said.
The police commenced a massive door-to-door search operation on Tuesday in Hoshiarpur and neighbouring villages to catch him and his colleagues, who are charged in numerous criminal cases.
Amritpal Singh, however, seems to have managed to flee, ditching an Innova at a Gurudwara in the Maraiyan village of Hoshiarpur and running away into the fields.
After that, a search operation was conducted in and around the village to catch the culprits. Checkpoints and barricades were raised on the roads to apprehend the suspects.
There was immense pressure on Punjab police to arrest him and his aides because they were planning to start a rebellion that occurred in the 1980s in Punjab.
Police were not able to trace Amritpal Singh and several of his associates. Cops have also tried to catch the members of the pro-Khalistan ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit.
Almost three weeks ago, Amritpal and his associates stormed the Anjala police station near Amritsar for the release of an arrested man.
The preacher deceived the police in Jalandhar by changing vehicles and appearances on a regular basis.
The latest video of Amritpal Singh with his main aide, Papalpreet Singh, surfaced on social media, in which he was spotted without a turban and wearing a mask.
The Punjab Police are tight-lipped on the footage, while the senior Delhi Police official said that they are investigating the matter.