'Fugitive' Amritpal Singh motivated youths to become human bombs: officials

Chandigarh: Self-styled preacher and radical Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh, who is still out of police's grab, was using drug de-addiction centres and a gurdwara to stockpile weapons as well as training youths to carry out suicide attacks, PTI reported citing officials.

Various security agencies received a warning from intelligence inputs about the same, and they prepared a dossier on Amritpal. The dossier claimed that the preacher engaged in brainwashing youth to make them human bombs, and this was at the behest of Pakistan's ISI and Khalistan sympathisers abroad.

Some officials, who are monitoring the situation in Punjab, claim that after Pakistan is going through its worst economic crisis and has lost all wars fought against India, it is trying to divert the attention of Pak citizens by planting stooges like Amritpal in India.

Police had seized arms and ammunition in the probe underway, which are claimed to be meant for the so-called Anandpur Khalsa Front (AKF). Police also seized uniforms, and jackets etc., also. They added that the preacher's car has "AKF" marked on it.

The weapons were stockpiled illegally in some de-addiction centres run by the 'Waris Panjab De' and a gurdwara in Amritsar. The youth who were admitted there were brainwashed towards the gun culture and were advised to choose the path of terrorist Dilwar Singh, a human bomb that killed former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.

The preacher also used to call "shaheedi samagam" (memorial events) of killed terrorists, where he termed them so-called "martyrs of the Panth". He used to glorify the use of weapons too.

On Saturday, when the police were in pursuit of Amritpal, cinematic-level events of the chase, doctored car crashes etc., happened. The police chased the preached for 16 km, and at some point, his supporters intentionally crashed into motorbikes to divert police's attention, NDTV reported.

Jalandhar Police chief Swapan Sharma said that they had decided not to use lethal operation. He related how the preacher was being chased and how he took cover in a crowded place.

Sharma assured that they are closing on him, and there are six FIRs filed against him.

Senior officer Kuldeep Singh Chahal said that Amritpal's close aide, Daljeet Singh Kalsi, who manages the preacher's finances, was arrested on Monday morning.