Punjab: Amritpal Singh's uncle booked under NSA, internet snapped in Punjab till tomorrow- HIGHLIGHTS

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said the state was on high alert and security has been beefed up along the border with Punjab in view of the crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh.

Strict vigil is being maintained along the border with Punjab, he told media persons.

Directions have been issued to ensure tourists coming from outside the state do not face any inconvenience and no unwanted element is allowed entry, the chief minister added.

A vehicle with number PB10FW 6797 has been recovered from Salina village near Jalandhar. The said vehicle was used by Amritpal while he was being chased by Punjab police. A .315 bore rifle along with 57 live cartridges, a sword and a walkie-talkie set has also been recovered from the abandoned vehicle.

"All mobile internet services, all SMS services (except banking & mobile recharge) and all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice call, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab have been suspended till March 21 (12 AM) in the interest of public safety," Punjab government said.

"If Amritpal Singh will be arrested then the DGP will inform about it. There are some evil forces but the police is doing good work. I appeal to people of Punjab to maintain peace and brotherhood," said Punjab Minister Balbir Singh.

Another FIR has been registered against Amritpal Singh and 3 unidentified people under section 279, 188 IPC and arms act at Jalandhar’s Mehatpur police station. The FIR was filed after police recovered Amritpal’s SUV from Sarinh Village Near Nakodar.

As the hunt is still on to nab Khalistan supporter Amritpal Singh, the Centre has asked Border Security Force (BSF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) to remain alert on border to foil any escape attemp by the radical leader.

Security agencies had raised a red flag after intelligence inputs suggested that pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh was using drug de-addiction centres and a gurdwara for stockpiling weapons and preparing youths to carry out suicide attacks, officials said on Sunday. A thick dossier prepared with inputs from various security agencies claimed that Singh, who returned from Dubai last year allegedly at the behest of Pakistan's ISI and Khalistan sympathisers residing overseas, was mainly engaged in brainwashing youths to become "khadkoos" or human bombs. The self-styled radical preacher has been on the run since the Punjab Police launched a massive crackdown on Saturday and arrested 78 members of the 'Waris Punjab De', headed by him. According to experts and officials monitoring the situation in Punjab, Pakistan, which is going through its worst economic phase and lost all the wars fought against India, is trying its best to divert attention of its people by planting stooges like Amritpal Singh inside India.

Police is conducting flag marches and searches across Punjab in their manhunt for radical preacher Amritpal Singh, arresting 34 more supporters and shifting four men in custody to a jail in far-off Assam. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has, however, asked the state government to respond on Tuesday to a habeas corpus petition, claiming that the preacher is already in illegal police custody and should be released. Justice NS Shekhawat held the hearing at his home-office as the courts were closed. Police stuck to their version that the “Waris Punjab De” chief gave them the slip during a car chase in Jalandhar district on Saturday, when the crackdown against the group began. They have slapped fresh FIRs against the Khalistan sympathiser and his supporters. Section 144 of the CrPc, which prohibits congregations, was imposed in the union territory of Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. Prohibitory orders were already in force in some parts of Punjab.

'Waris Punjab De' chief Amritpal Singh's uncle Harjit Singh and driver Harpreet have surrendered before the Punjab police on Sunday night, SSP Jalandhar Rural, Swarndeep Singh said.