On run Amritpal’s uncle, driver hold sarpanch’s family hostage, booked - Hindustan Times
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On run Amritpal’s uncle, driver hold sarpanch’s family hostage, booked

By, Jalandhar
Mar 21, 2023 09:21 PM IST

With a massive hunt for Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh, chief of Waris Punjab De, on for the past four days, Jalandhar rural police registered another FIR against him and his two accomplices, including his uncle and driver for holding a sarpanch’s family hostage at gunpoint.

With a massive hunt for Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh, chief of Waris Punjab De, on for the past four days, Jalandhar rural police registered another FIR against him and his two accomplices, including his uncle and driver for holding a sarpanch’s family hostage at gunpoint.

The FIR was registered in Mehatpur police station on the complaint of Manpreet Singh, sarpanch of Udhowal village, who along with his family was held hostage by Amritpal’s uncle Harjit Singh and driver. (HT Photo)
The FIR was registered in Mehatpur police station on the complaint of Manpreet Singh, sarpanch of Udhowal village, who along with his family was held hostage by Amritpal’s uncle Harjit Singh and driver. (HT Photo)

The FIR was registered in Mehatpur police station on the complaint of Manpreet Singh, sarpanch of Udhowal village, who along with his family was held hostage by Amritpal’s uncle Harjit Singh and driver Harpreet Singh, while they were being chased by cops on March 18. Udhowal village is 7km away from Mehatpur, where the cavalcade of the radical Sikh preacher was intercepted by the police.

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Both Harjit and Harpreet later surrendered before the police near Bullandpur Gurdwara in Jalandhar’s Mehatpur area.

Harjit, who has been booked under National Security Act (NSA) was shifted to the high-security Dibrugarh jail in Assam on Tuesday.

The case has been registered under sections 449 (whoever commits house-trespass in order to the committing of any offence punishable with death), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC act and other sections of the Arms Act.

Manpreet Singh in the FIR, states that both Harjit and Harpreet forcefully opened the door to his house and parked their vehicle inside.

“The accused took my brother Kamalpreet Singh, hostage, at gunpoint and asked him to shut all the doors of the house besides asking him to open one of the rooms. I was not in the house at the time when they arrived, but my brother called me in panic and asked me to come back home,” Manpreet stated in the FIR.

The FIR further states that both the accused restricted sarpanch and his family from moving out and threatened to kill them in case they tried to inform police about their whereabouts.

“The accused asked for the food and kept watching the news channels throughout their stay. They left in their Mercedes Benz on Sunday around 11 pm. We only came to know about their arrest on TV following which we approached police and narrated the whole incident,” said Manpreet in an FIR.

In his interrogation, Harjit told police interrogators that he decided to surrender after watching the developments unfold on TV at the sarpanch’s house, officials said.

In a video, while surrendering, Harjit was seen producing his licensed .32-bore gun and cash amounting to 1 to 1.25 lakh that he was carrying in a Mercedes car. The vehicle was later seized and the two men were taken away by the Amritsar Rural police.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Navrajdeep Singh is a senior staff correspondent. He covers agriculture, crime, local bodies, health and education in the Patiala district of Punjab.

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