Punjab Police Did Not Retaliate Because Amritpal Brought Guru Granth Sahib, Lovepreet Toofan Released

A senior police officer shared that the reason why the police did not retaliate against the armed supporters of ‘Waris Punjab De’ on Thursday was because Amritpal Singh had brought Guru Granth Sahib with him. The officer added that if they retaliated, the situation could have got much worse. The protestors were demanding the release of one of their associates who has since been set free.

“What happened yesterday should not have happened. Punjab Police did not retaliate because Amritpal [Singh] had brought Guru Granth Sahib with him. If we had retaliated, things would have gone awry. We respected Guru Granth Sahib,” said senior police officer Harpal Singh Randhawa.

The incident took place on Thursday when supporters of Amritpal Singh, a self-styled religious preacher, broke through police barricades demanding the release of one of their associates named Lovepreet Toofan. Videos of the incident showed the armed supporters breaking through the barricades and the police not taking any action to push them back.

Now, the police officer has explained that Amritpal, who had initially stated he will hold a peaceful protest, cheated them and his men attacked the police as well. “Amritpal had earlier said that he would hold only peaceful dharna. But he cheated us. His men attacked the Punjab Police. But we did not retaliate at all because Guru Granth Sahib was in front. I would like to salute the Punjab Police personnel who did not retaliate,” Randhawa said.

Talking about the criticism of Punjab police for their inaction, the senior officer said the police’s response does not show weakness and that no Khalistani movement is going to happen in Punjab. “People of Punjab, Punjab Police have finished terrorism from Punjab. These are some bad guys. Amritpal is being called wrong everywhere today. We want to assure the whole country that there is rule of law in Punjab,” he added.

Lovepreet Toofan Singh has now been released, a day after the incident. According to Amritsar Rural’s Superintendent of Police Satinder Singh, Amritpal’s supporters had presented evidence showing Lovepreet was not present at the spot at the time of the kidnapping incident.

Toofan Singh was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and beating up Barinder Singh, a resident of Chamkaur Sahib in Rupnagar district along with 30 associates. Toofan is a member of the Amritpal Singh-led ‘Waris Punjab De’ organization.

Vineet Washington