Pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh and his aides are taken to the British era Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam. The prison complex has high security and is fortified as it once held high profile ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom) terrorists when the militancy was at the peak in the Northeast. As of now, nine of Amritpal’s aides – Daljit Singh Kalsi, Papalpreet Singh, Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, Varinder Singh Johal, Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwala, Harjit Singh, Bhagwant Singh, Basant Singh and Gurinderpal Singh Aujla are lodged in the Dibrugarh Central Jail.
It is one of the oldest and most secured prison in the region. Constructed in 1859-60 by the British, the prison complex is spread over 15.54 acres of land. The jail complex is surrounded by the Assam Police’s elite Black Cat Commandos, the CRPF and other security personnel. Reports suggest that in its 170 years of existence, there has not been a single jailbreak in the Dibrugarh Central Jail.
It is believed that one of the reasons to take the pro-Khalistani fugitives to Assam could also be the language barrier as those prisoners who do not know Assamese could have reduced interaction especially with other inmates. For example, in Delhi prisons like Tihar and in Rajasthan, too, many prisoners could speak and understand Punjabi. Some of these jails also house many Punjabi gangsters and separatists.
Further, had Amritpal and his aides kept in Punjab, there could have been a chance of protests which could turn violent leading to law and order situation in state. By taking him to Assam, the administration could curb creating a pro-Amritpal wave in Punjab. Some may argue why Assam and why not say, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra. After all quite a few high profile criminals have been kept in Maharashtra jails. One reason could be that in Assam, general sentiment there is of anti-separatist. Plus, as compared to Assam, these states are closer to Punjab and slightly easier to mobilize mobs to create law and order situation, than in Assam.
Such move of shifting high profile criminals of one state being shifted to another state is not new. In 2021, 26 detainees under the Public Safety Act from Jammu & Kashmir were moved to Agra Central Jail in Uttar Pradesh. The move had taken place amid an increase of terror attacks and selective killings. These were the prisoners lodged in various jails across J&K region. Many were detained because they were either overground workers or were associated with Pakistan-based terror groups.
Currently there are about 680 prisoners lodged in the jail and is third most populated central prison in the state after Guwahati and Tezpur.
