Operation Amritpal: Punjab Police Cancels All Leaves Till Baisakhi

Ludhiana: It’s been three weeks since a manhunt was launched, but Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh has continued to give police the slip.

Now, Punjab Police has cancelled leaves of all officers in the state till Baisakhi, April 14.

In a video, the 30-year-old radical Sikh preacher and his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’ last week called for a ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ congregation on Baisakhi to discuss issues related to the Sikh community.

Punjab’s Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said in a message that leaves of all gazetted and non-gazetted officers have been cancelled until Baisakhi, including previously sanctioned leaves, and fresh leave can be sanctioned till April 14.

Following Amritpal’s call on March 29, the top gurdwara body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said that only the Akal Takht chief can decide whether to call such a congregation after consulting with Sikh scholars and intellectuals.

“It is the personal wish of Amritpal Singh. It is the sole prerogative of the Akal Takht jathedar to call or not call a ‘Sarbat Khalsa’. The jathedar would see what needs to be done under the prevailing circumstances,” SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal told PTI.

The last ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ gathering was held on February 16, 1986.