MHA mulls ban on Amritpal Singh's outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’ under UAPA

Mukesh Ranjan

New Delhi, March 20

Intelligence and security agencies are preparing a detailed dossier on pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh, as the MHA is considering to declare ‘Waris Punjab De’ a banned organisation under stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Agencies preparing dossier on Amritpal

• Intelligence agencies suggested shifting his aides to jails in the North-East and Southern states
• This was done to avoid the Ajnala-like incident where Amritpal and his supporters stormed the police station to secure the release of an arrested associate
• A decision in this regard was taken at a joint meeting in the MHA, which is preparing dossier on Amritpal

Trained in Georgia

Intelligence agencies said before coming to India, Amritpal was trained by the ISI in Georgia and has links with the Sikhs for Justice. During the training, he was shown speeches of Khalistan ideologue Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He was trained to follow his mannerism to attract attention of the masses.

Sources in the security establishment said it was fact that the ongoing crackdown against Amritpal and his supporters was being carried out by the Punjab Police with the help of Central forces and agencies on the basis of intelligence inputs gathered against him over a period of time.

“But to ban an organisation, we need documentary evidence to nail him before the adjudicating authority. And for this a foolproof dossier is required,” said a senior security official.

So far the Central intelligence agencies have gathered information that establish the fact that people used to follow Amritpal Singh blindly in the name of connecting back to religion without knowing his ulterior motive. “He didn’t allow people to carry mobiles during his events,” said an official.

Officials also claimed that Amritpal had been building a “private militia of defiants” at drug de-addiction centres in Punjab. He also had teams of criminals, who used to protect him, they added.

In their reports, the intelligence agencies highlighted that before coming to India, Amritpal was trained by the ISI in Georgia and had links with the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).

A senior intelligence source said, “As he came in contact with ISI operatives in Dubai, he was taken to Georgia for training, as Pakistan’s spy agency has its assets there, who also got support from SFJ’s Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. He was shown speeches of dead Khalistan ideologue Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He was trained to follow his mannerism to attract attention of the masses.”

The source also claimed that that after Amritpal arrived in Punjab there has been an increase in the number of flights of drones that carry drugs and weapons from across the border.

While drug lords were allegedly helping him financially, the ISI was helping him with weapons and other logistics, the source said.

The intelligence agencies alleged that Amritpal tried to project himself as a social reformer and was running de-addiction centres with the objective of setting up a private militia. The de-addiction centres were allegedly also used to stockpile weapons, they said.

The ISI is also behind the protests organised by Khalistani sympathisers in London, San Francisco and Canberra, officials said today.