police-reach-assam-to-arrest-amritpal-after-nsa-ends

Punjab Police have reached Assam’s Dibrugarh to formally arrest Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh in connection with the 2023 Ajnala police station attack case, as his detention under the National Security Act is set to end.

 

Officials said the arrest is likely to take place on April 23, immediately after the expiry of his preventive detention.

 

Amritpal Singh has been lodged in Dibrugarh Central Jail since April 23, 2023, after being detained under the NSA amid a crackdown following the Ajnala incident.

 

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently permitted the Punjab government to proceed with his arrest in the Ajnala case and allowed his continued incarceration in the Assam jail, citing security and law-and-order concerns.

 

The state government had argued that bringing him to Punjab could pose risks, and sought permission to conduct trial proceedings via video-conferencing.

Also read:  HC dismisses Amritpal Singh’s plea challenging NSA detention

 

In its order, the High Court allowed the Amritsar trial court to carry out all proceedings, including police and judicial remand, through virtual mode.

 

Amritpal Singh will be produced before the court through video-conferencing after his formal arrest, his counsel Harpal Singh Khara said.

 

“The court has permitted the state to arrest him after the expiry of NSA detention and conduct the trial in Amritsar through virtual mode,” the counsel said.

 

The FIR in the Ajnala violence case was registered on February 24, 2023, following a clash involving supporters of Amritpal Singh and police personnel at a police station in Amritsar district.

 

Several associates of the MP, including Papalpreet Singh, Daljeet Singh Kalsi and others, had earlier been detained under the NSA and related charges. They were later shifted to Punjab and are currently facing trial in the Ajnala sub-divisional court.

 

The Punjab government maintained before the High Court that keeping Amritpal Singh in Dibrugarh while conducting proceedings virtually would ensure better security management and prevent potential unrest.

 

The development marks a key step in the legal proceedings linked to the Ajnala incident, with the trial now set to progress after more than a year of preventive detention.