Punjab Police on Sunday appealed to public to maintain peace and harmony even as the manhunt to nab radical preacher and pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh continued on the second day. Authorities have extended curbs on mobile internet and SMS services till Monday noon amid a high alert in the state.
"Punjab Police is acting within the law. Amritpal Singh is still absconding and not yet arrested," IGP Sukhchain Gill said in a video message on Sunday evening.
"Don't believe the rumours and false news. Request all citizens to maintain peace and harmony and not panic," he added.
Senior police officers asserted that the law and order situation is under control and warned of strict action against anyone spreading rumours. They denied that there was any lapse in their operation which began on Saturday morning to arrest the Waris Punjab De chief.
Police had intercepted Amritpal's cavalcade in Mehatpur village in Jalandhar district on Saturday morning, but he managed to give the cops a slip. Later in the afternoon, several media reports claimed that police apprehended the separatist leader after a long chase, but officials denied it.
On Sunday, Jalandhar Commissioner of Police Kuldeep Singh Chahal told ANI that Amritpal has been declared a fugitive and that he would be arrested soon.
According to police, a total of 112 people, including close aides of the Khalistan sympathiser, have been arrested in the operation so far and further searches and raids are under way.
Meanwhile, police filed a fresh FIR against Amritpal and his supporters in Amritsar and two cases in Jalandhar. Amritpal's alleged advisor and fund provider Daljit Singh Kalsi and three others who were arrested on Saturday were flown to Assam from Punjab on a "special flight" and were being kept at the Dibrugarh Central Jail. However, it is not immediately known why they were brought to BJP-ruled Assam, over 2,500 km away.
The police action came almost three weeks after hundreds of supporters of Amritpal—some of them brandishing swords and guns—clashed with police and barged into the Ajnala Police Station on the outskirts of the Amritsar city, seeking release of Lovepreet Singh Toofan, a close associate of Amritpal.
Toofan, who had been arrested on charges of abduction, was released under pressure but only after the police informed the court that they would be investigating the matter further. During the incident, six policemen including a Superintendent of Police rank officer had suffered injuries.