As Khalistan sympathiser and self-styled preacher Amritpal Singh continues to give the police the slip for more than three weeks now, fresh details have emerged about his visits to Georgia and alleged conspiracy with Pakistan’s ISI that unfolded there just before he arrived in India last year.
As per intelligence agencies, Amritpal Singh visited Georgia for training before arriving in India in September 2022. He was in Georgia from June 20, 2022 to August 18, 2022, claim officials. “He told his associates that he was in Georgia for eye surgery, but we believe he was given arms training by the ISI during the two months that he spent there,” an officer part of the investigation told News18.
The radical preacher has been on the run since the Punjab Police launched a crackdown on his Waris Punjab De outfit on March 18. Several of his associates have, however, been arrested by the police. The action followed the storming of the Ajnala police station by Amritpal and his supporters to secure the release of an arrested associate.
As per an Intelligence Bureau dossier accessed by News18, Amritpal had offered his services to the ISI for financial motive. “He was living in Dubai, which is the hub of ISI agents. Amritpal got in touch with them, got motivated due to the money offered, to challenge the Indian establishment,” the dossier said.
The timeline put together by the Punjab Police and central agencies suggests that Amritpal approached the ISI in Dubai after the death of Deep Sidhu, the then leader of Waris Punjab De, in February 2022. A plan was reportedly hatched to bring Amritpal Singh to India as a religious preacher modelled on Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and make Siddhu’s Waris Punjab De his launch platform.
Officials said Amritpal, who had shorn hair and wore tight T-shirts, underwent an image makeover in Dubai. He was subsequently sent to Georgia, located at the strategic intersection of Europe and Asia, under the garb of getting an eye surgery. In Georgia, the ISI allegedly debriefed him on Bhindranwale’s mannerism, oratory skills and sartorial style, among other things.
“A well-orchestrated plan to revive terrorism in Punjab was worked out. Funding, shelter to terrorists, supply of weapons by drones were discussed,” a source told News18.
Officials also pointed to subsequent events that show how the plan to give Amritpal Singh an image makeover translated on the ground. “Amritpal’s coronation as head of Waris Punjab De took place in Village Rode, Moga, the ancestral village of Bhindranwale. He was named Bhindranwale 2.0,” an official said.
Officials added that Amritpal was asked to raise money through religious events like Khalsa Waheer and Amritpan, ceremonies that baptise Sikh youth and connect them with the religion. “Raising a band of terrorists who are ready to offer their lives (Khadkoos), inciting Sikh youth to choose the path of slain militant Dilawar Singh (assassin of Beant Singh, former CM of Punjab), was ISI’s brief to Amritpal,” the officer said.
Both the Centre and state believe Deep Siddhu’s Waris Punjab De was just a platform the ISI wanted to use to launch Amritpal Singh.
Pointing out that Sidhu’s brother, wife and other associates were sidelined as part of the plan, the IB dossier said: “No efforts were made to meet the family members of the late Deep Sidhu whose legacy he is carrying forward despite living nearby for six months. Such ignorance to family members of the late Deep Sidhu by Amritpal is clear evidence that he has ulterior motive in using the platform provided by Deep Sidhu.”
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