Simranjit Singh Mann, Lok Sabha MP and the head of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), has advised Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh to leave for Pakistan rather than surrender. “He shouldn’t surrender, he should cross the Ravi river and go to Pakistan,” he said in an interview with a local channel. Mann is also a well-known Khalistan supporter.
Shocker from Lok Sabha MP Simranjit Singh. Simranjit: People have fled before 1984 too.#AmritpalSingh #Khalistan #SimranjitSingh #Punjab | @PoojaShali pic.twitter.com/0uWDFhsN2r
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) March 31, 2023
“We went to Pakistan in 1984 as well, didn’t we?” he added. According to him, if the fugitive decides to flee to Pakistan, it is ‘justified by Sikh history’ because his life is in danger and the government is ‘oppressing us.’
His remark is in reference to the 1984 events that eventually sparked the anti-Sikh riots. In order to eliminate Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Khalistani terrorists, Indira Gandhi, then-prime minister of India, gave the order for Operation Blue Star. Her Sikh bodyguards later murdered her, and the ensuing outcry over her passing gave rise to the 1984 Sikh Massacre.
There was a good chance Pakistan would have aided the Khalistani separatists and recognised the new country if it had been announced, according to Lieutenant General KS Brar, who oversaw Operation Blue Star.
His comments came amid reports that the chief of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ could give himself up before Baisakhi at the Akal Takht at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Takht Damdama Sahib in Bathinda, or the Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib in the Rupnagar region. He has been on the run since March 18 and has been frantically trying to get into Amritsar for the past 48 hours.
His family members have mysteriously vanished from their ancestral house in Jallupur Kheda. They allegedly spent the previous two days at the Golden Temple. The development occurred just one day after he made a video request to the head of ‘Akal Takh,’ the highest political institution of Sikhs, to summon a meeting of the ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ (congregation of Sikhs) on Baisakhi, which falls on April 14. He is said to have recorded the video in Uttar Pradesh and uploaded it from the United Kingdom.
He attempted to enter Amritsar by using the vehicles of a ‘Jalandhar Dera’ (Sikh lodge) where he stayed. He arrived in the city on March 27 with the assistance of Papalpreet Singh, and they were lodging at the facility associated with ‘Takht Huzoor Sahib’ in Nanded, Maharashtra.
The pair travelled to Hoshiarpur in a Toyota Innova from there for an interview with an international channel. However, the counter-intelligence wing of the Punjab Police got the wind of their plan. They began pursuing the car which was stopped at Marnaian village, under Mehtiyana police station limits.
The duo fled in a Maruti Swift car, but the police arrested two Dera men who were accompanying Amritpal Singh in another car. The Toyota Innova that the Radical Sikh is said to have driven to Hoshiarpur had a bogus registration number, which was later discovered. Now, the police are searching for the Maruti Swift.
Recently, the Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Harpreet Singh asked Amritpal Singh to surrender before the police and cooperate with the investigation in a video. Earlier in the day, it was reported that he was keen to surrender on Baisakhi, which is considered an auspicious day for Sikhs.
Amritpal Singh, who recently attempted to approach Amritsar, is currently constrained to a 10 to 12 kilometre radius after escaping from Hoshiarpur. Police can also compel him to surrender, much earlier than Baisakhi, however, he has declared that he will not surrender.
The Sarbat Khalsa may be held at Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib (Anandpur Sahib) or Takht Sri Damdama Sahib (Bathinda) if Akal Takht considers his appeal. The Golden Temple, Takht Damdama Sahib, and Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib are three significant Sikh sanctuaries where security has been stepped up by the police.
