Dibrugarh, April 23: Amritpal Singh, chief of Waris Punjab De and Member of Parliament from Khadoor Sahib, was taken into Punjab Police custody on Thursday following the expiry of his detention under the National Security Act (NSA).
A Punjab Police team executed the arrest at Dibrugarh Central Jail in connection with the 2023 Ajnala police station attack case. His three-year NSA detention ended at midnight on April 22.
Singh was subsequently moved to Dibrugarh Police Station for a two-day remand, amid tight security. An 11-vehicle convoy comprising Punjab Police, Assam Police, and commandos escorted him.
The operation was led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police from Punjab, with Dibrugarh Additional SP (Crime) Atul Kumar overseeing the transfer.
The remand will allow investigators to question Singh over his alleged role in the Ajnala incident, where a mob stormed a police station to secure the release of an associate, leaving several police personnel injured.
Confirming the development, Singh’s counsel Jasbir Kaur said he would be interrogated at Dibrugarh Police Station and then returned to Dibrugarh Central Jail.
“He will be questioned by the Punjab Police team in connection with the Ajnala case and later shifted back to the jail,” she said, adding that trial proceedings will be conducted via video conferencing from Punjab.
The development follows a recent order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which allowed Punjab Police to formally arrest Singh after the expiry of his NSA detention while directing that he continue to be lodged in Dibrugarh due to law and order concerns.
Singh has been held in the high-security Dibrugarh Central Jail since April 2023. While several of his associates were shifted back to Punjab after their NSA detention ended, Singh remains a key accused in the Ajnala case. He faces multiple charges under the Indian Penal Code, including attempt to murder, assault on public servants, and criminal conspiracy.
He is also named in around a dozen FIRs across Punjab related to violence and intimidation, and was recently listed as a conspirator in the October 2024 murder of social media influencer Gurpreet Singh.
Despite being in custody, Singh contested and won the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat as an Independent candidate in the 2024 general elections. He was granted parole in July 2024 to take oath as MP but has remained in jail since.
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