“What were 80,000 policemen doing?”: Court slams Punjab over Amritpal Singh

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court today slammed the Punjab Police and asked them to submit a status report on the action against Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh.
“You have 80,000 policemen, how did Amritpal Singh escape?” The High Court questioned the Punjab government. The court noted that this was a failure of intelligence by the state police.

The court’s comments come amid a Punjab police crackdown against the Khalistan leader and members of his organization ‘Waris Punjab D’.

The Punjab government launched a major crackdown on Amritpal Singh on Saturday, with police arresting 78 of his supporters.

However, the elusive preacher escaped their trap by giving a slip to the police when his cavalry was intercepted in Jalandhar district. Amritpal Singh, described by the government as a Khalistan-Pakistan agent, was spotted speeding away on a motorcycle in Jalandhar on Saturday evening.
Singh has been active in Punjab for the past few years and is often escorted by armed supporters. He claims to be a disciple of Khalistani separatist and terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and is known as “Bhindranwale 2.0” among his supporters.

The crackdown comes a month after Amritpal Singh and his supporters barged into a police station armed with swords and guns to free one of his aides. Six police officers were injured in the clash.