CHANDIGARH: The Punjab police on Saturday detained radical preacher Amritpal Singh after launching a crackdown against the 'Waris Punjab De' chief but no official confirmation has come in this regard so far.
Amripal's cavalcade was intercepted by police in Mehatpur village in Jalandhar district on Saturday. The cops had earlier detained six of his supporters.
Internet services have been suspended across the state till 12 noon Sunday, said a senior official of the Home affairs department.
All mobile internet services, all SMS services (except banking & mobile recharge) & all dongle services provided on mobile networks, except the voice call, in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab shall be suspended from 18th March (12:00 hours) to 19th March (12:00 hours) in… https://t.co/NN3LeXoRZt pic.twitter.com/z3vXg4v158
— ANI (@ANI) March 18, 2023Some supporters of 'Waris Punjab De' chief shared some videos on social media claiming that policemen were chasing them. A video also showed Amritpal sitting in a vehicle and one of his aides could be heard saying policemen were after 'Bhai Saab (Amritpal).
Another supporter in a field shared a video in which he was claiming that policemen were after him. A heavy police force was involved in the entire operation.
Meanwhile, Punjab Police asked people to maintain peace and harmony. "Request all citizens to maintain peace & harmony Punjab Police is working to maintain Law & Order. Request citizens not to panic or spread fake news or hate speech," it said in a tweet.
Last month, Amritpal and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the Ajnala Police Station on the outskirts of the Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of one of Amritpal's aide.
During the incident, six policemen including a Superintendent of Police rank officer had suffered injuries.
(with inputs from PTI)
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