Chandigarh: In a major breakthrough, fugitive Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh's close aide Papalpreet Singh was arrested from Punjab's Hoshiarpur on Monday. Papalpreet was arrested in a joint operation by the Punjab and Delhi Police that also involved their counter-intelligence wings. Papalpreet is considered to be Amritpal's mentor and is alleged to have links with Pakistan's ISI. Amritpal and Papalpreet had been on the run since March 18 when the Punjab Police launched a crackdown against the Khalistan sympathiser and his aides.


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Who Is Papalpreet Singh?


 


Papalpreet Singh comes from agricultural family background. He is said to have studied at a convent school and holds a PG diploma. Papalpreet Singh took to political activism in his 20s and got associated with Sikh Youth Front and Sikh Youth Federation (Bhindrawala). Apart from expressing his support for the Khalistan movement, Papalpreet had demanded the release of jailed Sikh prisoners since the 90s.


He came to the limelight during the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa when he read out militant Narain Singh Chaura's 'chargesheet' against the then Parkash Singh Badal government and claimed that "Khalistan is the only solution." In 2016, he joined Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and campaigned for Simranjit Singh Mann in Barnala in the 2017 Assembly elections. However, Mann lost the battle.  


Papalpreet Singh is considered to be one of Amritpal Singh's mentors who had been advising him on various issues. He is associated with the fugitive preacher closely since he returned to India last year and took over the reins of 'Waris Punjab De.'


Intelligence reports suggest that Papalpreet has links with ISI and uses its support to leverage the cause of Khalistan in Punjab. He is believed to have helped Amritpal Singh escape after the Punjab Police crackdown on his supporters. In a video, Papalpreet was seen driving a motorcycle with the former riding pillion. The two-wheeler was later found deserted at Phillaur in Jalandhar, according to a PTI report. 


It was on Papalpreet's instructions that Amritpal changed his appearance from a radical Sikh preacher to an ordinary person and finally abandoned the motorcycle at a canal in Phillaur.