Pipal Preet Singh, a close associate of separatist Sikh leader Amrit Pal Singh, has been arrested by the police in the Indian state of Punjab.
According to the Indian news channel NDTV, the counterintelligence unit of the police has arrested Pipal Preet Singh from Hoshiarpur in Indian Punjab.
Amrit Pal Singh has not been arrested yet. He has appealed to the Sikh organisation Akal Takht to organise a gathering of ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ on the occasion of Baisaki in Bathinda.
The police have cancelled the police holidays in Punjab until April 14 in this regard and have completed the arrangements.
Akal Takht chief Giani Harpreet Singh has appealed to Amrit Pal to surrender before the police. He has said that neither he will surrender the Akal Takht nor the organization will negotiate with the police in this regard.
Following Amrit Pal’s appeal, the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee has said that only the head of the Akal Takht has the authority to decide whether to allow such a gathering.
Sarbat Khalsa has been convened only twice, in 1986 and 2005.
Amrit Pal said in a recent video statement that he is not a ‘fugitive’ and will soon ‘appear before the world’. He said that those who think that they have run away from their comrades should remove this from their minds.
Police have been looking for Amrit Pal since March 18 but have not been able to arrest him yet.
