Punjab Police Cancels Leaves for its Officers Till April 14 Over Amritpal Singh’s ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ Request

Punjab police has cancelled the leaves of all cops till April 14 due to the video put out by Amritpal Singh last month calling for a meeting on the date. The ‘Waris Punjab De’ leader has been on the run from the cops since March 18. He escaped by changing clothes and switching multiple vehicles with the help of his supporters.

Last month, a few days after his escape, Amritpal Singh put out two videos asking the chiefs of Akal Takht to organize a “Sarbat Khalsa” gathering in Bathinda on April 14 for Baisakhi. He also asked the jathedars (chiefs of Akal Takht) to take out a religious procession from the Akal Takht in Amritsar to Damdama Sahib in Bathinda leading up to Baisakhi.

Now, it has been reported that Punjab police has cancelled the leaves of all cops till April 14. As per sources, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav sent a message to his officers that the leaves of all gazetted and non-gazetted officers have been cancelled. The officers who already had their leaves sanctioned will also have to come in to work and no more leaves will be allowed till the date.

Amritpal’s request for a gathering was not well received by Akal Takht chief Giani Harpreet Singh who asked Amritpal to surrender to the police and that he will not be allowed to surrender at Akal Takht. He added that the Akal Takht will not negotiate with the cops over this. As for the request for “Sarbat Khalsa,” top gurdwara body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said that only the Akal Takht chief has the right to call for a gathering after discussing with Sikh scholars and intellectuals.

The crackdown on ‘Waris Punjab De’ activist group and its leader Amritpal Singh began after a large gathering of the members clashed with police officers at the Ajnala police station. They were demanding the release of one of their members. The police then attempted to arrest Amritpal just weeks later but he managed to escape and has been on the run ever since.

Vineet Washington