Amritpal Singh was ahead, changed vehicles; no lapse in chase: Punjab Police

After a day of the chase by a high-level team of the Punjab Police, as Khalistan sympathiser and radical Sikh leader Amritpal Singh still remains absconding, the Punjab Police said there was no lapse in the chase.

Amritpal Singh managed to escape dodging the team by changing vehicles and he had the advantage as he was moving ahead of the police, Jalandhar CP Kuldeep Singh Chahal said. One of the vehicles of Amritpal Singh’s cavalcade has been seized. Police suspect the vehicle was used by the Waris Punjab De chief for his escape. When the cops spotted the vehicle, it was abandoned. One Kirpan and a .315 bore weapon with 57 live cartridges have also been recovered from the car.

“It is a police and thief game,” Kuldeep Singh Chahal added.

DIG Swapan Sharma said during the chase, Amritpal Singh ended up one a one-lane link road and crashed into 5-6 motorbike riders. Some were with the motive to divert the police from the chase.

How Amritpal Singh escaped: Here is a timeline

1. The Punjab Police launched a massive crackdown on Waris Punjab De and its chief Amritpal Singh on Saturday noon as they had some intel about Amritpal Singh’s movement.

2. Amritpal Singh’s cavalcade was intercepted by the police in Mehatput village in Jalandhar district where his close aides were arrested.

3. There was a chase of about 20-25km when Amritpal Singh was almost nabbed by the police.

4. However, the police on Saturday night confirmed that Amritpal Singh was yet to be arrested.

5. According to reports, the radical Sikh leader changed vehicle and pulled a fast one on the police. Some reports claimed he dumped his mobile phone and was last seen fleeing on a motorbike.

6. The hunt was on throughout the night as police went to his house, his in-law’s house.

7. The car in which Amritpal Singh believed to have escaped was found abandoned in Salema village. It is the same car which was seen in the video which surfaced on Saturday. In the unverified video, Amritpal Singh was seen fleeing in a car as a supporter said the police was chasing bhaisaab (Amritpal). The key of the vehicle was also lying there.

8. The scene of the action shifted from Punjab to Assam on Sunday as four close aides of Amritpal Singh who were arrested on Saturday were brought to Assam.