Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal is on the run, but he has not crossed the Indian borders yet, according to central and state police sources who said that the only evidence on record of Amritpal crossing the Punjab border is the arrest of a woman in Haryana allegedly for giving shelter to him. She sheltered Amritpal in an under-construction house in Shahbad Markanda area in Kurukshetra district after he evaded arrest in Punjab.
The border guarding forces as well as central and state police agencies on Amritpal's trail are keeping a close watch on districts closer to the border areas which have a sizeable Sikh population. Agencies believe that he can easily mix into the population, find logistical support and tap into resources in these areas to evade arrest. Ahead of the G20 meet, a pro-Khalistan body had given a call to protest in areas bordering Uttar Pradesh like Rampur, Pilibhit and Bareilly as well as Uttarakhand which has prompted a tight vigil.
Even as technical and human intelligence inputs are keeping the Punjab police and the Intelligence Bureau on their toes, social media is abuzz with pictures spotting Amritpal in various locations, sporting different clothes and rumours around the plans for his surrender or alleged police action to neutralise him but none of them have been found true. Punjab police sources told THE WEEK that Amritpal is believed to have not left the country, a claim buttressed by sources in central agencies who follow certain procedures when a fugitive is being tracked in real-time.
The alert sounded by the Indian agencies to their counterparts in Nepal is one of them - as Nepal shares a porous border with India and incidents of terrorists and criminals crossing over into Nepal or sneaking into India using the porous border are not new. Moreover, Nepal being a friendly country, unofficial channels of communication have been opened to coordinate efforts to nab him in case he slips out. Hence, once the 'Look Out Circular' was issued by the central agencies altering all airports, land ports and sea ports to keep a vigil on Amritpal’s movements and alleged attempts to use a fake passport or identity to flee the country, the second step was to alert the department of immigration in the neighbouring country.
After an LoC was issued, the routine exercise of unofficially sounding out counterparts in countries, especially those that either do not require a visa or have a visa-on-arrival facility, is carried out to keep a lookout for the fugitive.
Getting hold of fugitives who have left Indian shores has been an uphill task for security agencies. Whether it is terrorists, criminals or those accused of economic offences like money laundering- India has asked Interpol to issue Red Corner Notices against several accused in the past but it has not been a cakewalk.
“The RCNs are also not legally binding and most of the cooperation with our counterparts bears fruit when there is a mutual legal assistance treaty and diplomatic cooperation. Even then, it is not legally imperative for the other country to hand over an alleged fugitive,” said a senior official. In this case, Indian agencies are yet to complete the domestic chase before pushing the pedal on cross-border efforts to nab Amritpal. Nepal being one of the most friendly countries, channels had been opened in advance for friendly cooperation.
