Workers of Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), the party of Khalistan-supporter MP Amritpal Singh from Khadoor Sahib, Punjab, have clashed with Chandigarh Police. Police had put up barricades to prevent them from entering Chandigarh, which the protesters picked up and threw away. Following this, Chandigarh Police used water cannons on them.
Many supporters‘ turbans came off. During this, the protesters also turned the mouth of the water cannon. After this, supporters have entered Chandigarh and are heading to gherao CM Bhagwant Mann’s official residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh. The protesters are demanding the release of MP Amritpal.
Amritpal supporters break police barricades
Party leader MLA Manpreet Ayali said that “we have come here for a peaceful protest, not for any kind of vandalism. Amritpal is a representative of the people, but being kept in jail, he is unable to fulfill his constitutional duties as an MP.” MP Amritpal’s lawyer, Imaan Singh Khara, said that “the NSA has been removed. After this, he was kept in Assam jail after registering Ajnala violence and 11 other false cases.”
PHOTOS from the demonstration
As soon as the police operated the water cannon, a protester tried to turn its nozzle, after which another one also ran to help him
Supporters of MP Amritpal who arrived for the protest
A large number of Nihangs have also arrived among Amritpal’s supporters
Amritpal supporters marching from Mohali towards Chandigarh
Who is MP Amritpal, why is there a demand to release him now?
Amritpal Singh reached Parliament in 2024 after winning as an independent candidate from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat. He defeated Congress’s Kulbir Singh Zira by about 1.97 lakh votes, which was among Punjab’s biggest victories.
At the time of the election, he was imprisoned in Dibrugarh Jail, Assam. Earlier, in September 2022, after the death of actor Deep Sidhu, he came from Dubai and took over the command of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ organization.
On April 23, 2023, Amritpal was arrested from Moga on charges of attacking the Ajnala police station. Subsequently, he was sent to Dibrugarh Jail in Assam under the National Security Act (NSA).
Elections are due in Punjab in 7 months, so his organization has now become a political party, Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De). In which, along with declaring Amritpal as the CM face, it has also been announced that he will contest elections from jail.
His organization alleges that the Punjab government is deliberately extending Amritpal’s NSA period, due to which he is unable to carry out public work despite being the Lok Sabha representative from Khadoor Sahib.
Who are Bandi Sikhs, why is their release demanded?
According to Sikh organizations, Bandi Sikhs are referred to as those Sikh prisoners who have completed their sentences in various cases, but are still in jail due to legal, administrative, or other reasons.
