Amritpal Singh manhunt: Punjab Police recovers toy drone on outskirts of pro-Khalistan preacher’s village
Following the recovery of toy drone from the outskirts of pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh’s village in Amritsar district, the Punjab Police is on high alert.
Amritpal Singh manhunt: Amid the ongoing manhunt of Punjab police for Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, who is on a run, a toy drone was recovered on the outskirts of fugitive pro-Khalistani leader’s village in Amritsar district, said officials on Friday.
Senior officials with Punjab Police said that the toy drone was seized from Rayya village located on the outskirts of Amritsar on Thursday. "Police have recovered the toy drone on the outskirts of Amritpal Singh's village in Punjab's Amritsar area. The drone does not have a camera on it. The Police have taken out the batteries," said DSP Harkrishan Singh. "Police are on high alert," he added.
"I am not surrendering"
Khalistani sympathizer live-streamed video on YouTube on Thursday evening saying “he would not surrender.” "The Almighty saved us from the attempt of 'lakhs of cops' who were sent to make an arrest," he further said in the Facebook video.
The video appeared amid reports that the radical preacher might surrender. In his 40-minute video, Amritpal Singh is trying to provoke the youth as he demanded to call Sarbat Khalsa on the occasion of Baisakhi.
"I am appearing in front of you for the first time since March 18. First I want to talk about the action of the Punjab government. If their intention would have been only to arrest me, then they could have simply done it and I would have surrendered... but instead of that they tried to do it by force... and it was due to the blessings of God, we are able to escape... when the internet was shut down, we were not able to communicate and didn't know what was going around... I would like to thank all who came in front to support us...," said Amritpal Singh.
Challenge for Punjab Police continues
Cops are still unaware of Amritpal Singh's location, who is on run. Several photos and videos of the radical leader have surfaced over the past few days in which he has been spotted at various locations in northern India and is still out at large.
The elusive preacher himself, however, gave the police a slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Jalandhar district recently.
There was no official word on the purported video, which appeared as the Punjab Police try to close in on Amritpal Singh. Some reports have also suggested he might surrender as the security in Amritsar and Talwandi Sabo area in Bathinda has been tightened.
The crackdown on his outfit Waris Punjab De started weeks after Amritpal Singh's supporters stormed a police station in Ajnala, near Amritsar, to secure the release of one his followers. The Punjab government has slapped the stringent National Security Act against him and some of his close aides.
(With ANI inputs)