Haryana police on alert after Amritpal Singh's last location traced in Kurukshetra district

Chandigarh: Haryana Police Friday said it has stepped up vigil across the state and its personnel have been put on alert after radical preacher Amritpal Singh's last location was traced in the Kurukshetra district.

However, the whereabouts of Amritpal and his associate Papalpreet Singh remain unknown. They were allegedly harboured by a woman at her home in Kurukshetra district's Shahabad on March 19.

A senior Punjab police official on Thursday said, "As soon as we came to know that he has sneaked out of Punjab, we immediately alerted the other states." Haryana's Additional DGP (Law and Order) Mamta Singh Friday said there is no further input about where Amritpal went from Shahabad.

"So far, there is no other input. However, we are on alert and keeping a watch," Singh told PTI over the phone.

Baljit Kaur, the woman who allegedly harboured Amritpal Singh and his associate Papalpreet Singh at her home in the Kurukshetra district was nabbed on Thursday. She was being questioned by the Punjab police.

Additional DGP (Law and Order) Mamta Singh said immediately after the Haryana Police got information about the woman who harboured Amritpal and his associate they shared it with their Punjab counterpart.

A CCTV footage surfaced on Thursday showing Amritpal in a shirt and trousers and holding an umbrella in Haryana's Shahabad in an apparent bid to hide from police gaze.

Later, another footage claimed to be of March 20 also surfaced, in which the radical preacher is seen again carrying an umbrella and moving on a road opposite the Shahabad bus stand, Haryana police sources said.

Meanwhile, the driver of the cart on which Amritpal along with his associate Papalpreet was seen sitting in Jalandhar said both of them had asked him to take them to a tyre repair shop as their bike's tyre had got punctured.

The driver claimed that he did not know about radical the preacher at that time.

Meanwhile, a video has emerged showing one of Amritpal's associates shooting at a firing range in the preacher's native village Jallupur Khera in the Amritsar district. Pictures of some associates posing with weapons have also surfaced containing the hologram of Anandpur Khalsa Fauj (AKF).

Punjab Inspector General of Police (Headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill on Thursday said following the questioning of Amritpal's associate Tejinder Singh Gill who was held by the Khanna police, some sensitive materials were seized which indicate that they were involved in "anti-national activities".

The Khanna police arrested Tejinder Singh Gill, who was part of the private security set-up of the Khalistan sympathizer.

Last month, Amritpal and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the Ajnala Police Station on the outskirts of the Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of one of the preacher's aides.

Last week, the Punjab Police launched a crackdown against Amritpal and elements of his outfit "Waris Punjab De".

Amritpal, however, gave the police a slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in the Jalandhar district. After his escape, Amritpal changed his appearance, wore sunglasses and western attire and has been using different modes of travel.