Chandigarh: A day after reports emerged about the possibility of Amritpal Singh, the head of ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, taking refuge in the Akal Takht and surrendering, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the state police was ready for it and all action would be taken as per law.
“We assure him (Amritpal) that there will be no torture on him. The police will not go beyond their legal limits. Amritpal Singh has been absconding since May 18 and a massive manhunt is being launched by the Punjab Police to nab him.”
On the question of Amritpal not coming into the hands of the Punjab Police for the second time, he said that his teams are very close to him.
The Chief Minister did not respond to a question on SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami asking the Chief Minister to apologise to the Akal Takht. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Rajya Sabha member Ashok Mittal, Cabinet Ministers Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal and Inderbir Singh Nijjar. The chief minister then went to the Devi Talab temple and later held a meeting with the MLAs.
Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa, who was here to participate in the Shobha Yatra, said it was the failure of the government that Amritpal was not arrested even after 13 days. On the other hand, intelligence teams of Punjab Police were on high alert to arrest Amritpal. The help of drones is also being sought to keep an eye on suspicious activities.
Meanwhile, Amritpal refuted the reports that he is willing to surrender before the police in a audio recording shared on Thursday.