Amritpal Singh's arrest: Hours after 'Waris Punjab De' chief and Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh was arrested on Sunday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that he didn't sleep the entire Saturday night as he was in regular touch with senior officials over the phone. Amritpal Singh was arrested from Punjab's Moga, police said.
In a televised statement, Bhagwant Mann said, "Action will be taken against those who try to disrupt the country's peace and law... We will not disturb any innocent person. We don't do vendetta politics..."
After his arrest, Amritpal Singh was taken to Dibrugarh Jail in Assam amid tight security.
CM Bhagwant Mann said that he was in touch with senior officials throughout Saturday night about the operation and asserted that those who try to disturb peace will face action as per law.
In his video message, Mann also thanked the people of Punjab for their cooperation and said he does not want the youth to be misled by people with vested interests who run their shops by driving a campaign against the country.
Punjab's land is fertile and anything can grow here, but "seeds of hatred will never grow nor will these be allowed to grow", the chief minister emphasised.
Mann said that he wants the youth of Punjab to hold degrees in their hands, appointment letters for occupying high posts and medals in top sporting events.
Didn't sleep entire night, says Bhagwant Mann
Facing flak over the last month for the failure to arrest Amritpal, the chief minister stressed he did not want any bloodshed during the operation.
He said after he received information on Saturday night, “I did not sleep the whole night and I was in regular touch with senior officials over phone after every 15 minutes, half an hour to get information.”
"I wanted that entire thing (operation to arrest Amritpal) should be done in a peaceful manner," he added.
Referring to the police crackdown on March 18 against Amritpal and his aides belonging to 'Waris Punjab De' (WPD) outfit, Mann said in an attempt to arrest the radical preacher on that day, "maybe, bullets could have been fired. But we did not want any bloodshed”.
Amritpal charged under NSA
Amritpal, charged under the stringent National Security Act, was arrested in Rode village of Punjab's Moga district on Sunday morning after police personnel surrounded him, leaving him with no way to escape. He was taken to Dibrugarh in Assam where nine of his associates are presently lodged at Dibrugarh Central Jail.
Security in and around the jail premises has been beefed up since March 19, when four members of the 'Waris Punjab De' (WPD).
"The Punjab government handled this sensitively. No violence was reported. This is a very big achievement for Punjab Police," said AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.
"All this (Amritpal Singh's arrest) was very well orchestrated and choreographed by his masters sitting abroad. Somebody was not only sheltering him, but also giving him all sorts of support, including money," said former Punjab DGP Shashi Kant.
Meanwhile, Amritpal Singh's uncle Sukhchain Singh said that their family will fight the legal battle against his arrest.
"If the police had worked properly, this arrest would have happened earlier. There was no need of all this drama. Now the arrest happened peacefully, did anything happen in Punjab," asked SAD leader Daljeet Singh Cheema.
"Strict action must be taken against those who spread terror and fear. Punjab (Police) took a little longer, it would have been better had this (Amritpal Singh's arrest) happened a little sooner," said Union Minister Anurag Thakur.
(With inputs from PTI)
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