Dozens and dozens of supporters of Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh marched in Amritsar to protest the detention of his aide, Lovepreet Singh Toofan. Supporters brandishing swords and guns pushed through police barricades set up outside the Ajnala police station in Amritsar. According to Punjab Police, the rioters used the holy Guru Granth Sahib as a shield and attacked police officers, injuring six of them. Later, Lovepreet Toofan was released.
As per media reports, Waris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh’s activities have been flagged as ‘very serious’ developments by the central security agencies. The siege of a police station in Ajnala to free his aide, Lovepreet Singh Toofan, is just one of the many issues. The reports further say that a probe is underway to check who is funding him and in what manner and that Amritpal had been getting ideological support from radical elements in the UK and Canada, besides small pockets in Europe.
A senior journalist notes in a telling column, “Think. A big police station on the Pakistan border is overrun by an armed mob, a suspect is freed, and the state says, ‘sorry, my bad.’ You have to be nuts to think there will be no consequences.” The journalist wryly adds, “They stormed a police station next to the border with Pakistan — as sensitive a zone as you can name. They forced the state to release one of theirs arrested for kidnapping. Watch those craven, grovelling videos of the Amritsar police chief saying that the protesters have proven that the charges were fake and that the police are withdrawing the FIR.”
There is no disputing the fact that the Khalistan narrative has returned. “The spate of occurrences within days of the change of guard in Punjab should have been anticipated,” said a former DGP from Punjab.
Politically speaking, Arvind Kejriwal’s perceived pandering to separatist factions in Punjab, who dream of Punjab as a separate sovereign country, earned him an advantage in the state polls. Kejriwal’s alleged support for K-ideologues garnered him the backing of pro-K groups, who declared their support for his party during the Lok Sabha elections. Dr Kumar Vishwas, Kejriwal’s former party colleague, has excoriated the AAP’s affiliation with K-separatists for gaining electoral successes in previous elections. Rahul Gandhi too had attacked the Delhi Chief Minister for staying at the ancestral home of a former K-terrorist in Moga. In the run-up to the 2017 Assembly elections, Gul Panag warned Kejriwal and his party about their infatuation with extremist religious fringes and separatist parties in Punjab.
Even though border security is beyond the state government’s control, cooperation between the Punjab Police and Border Security Force (BSF) must be maintained at all times.
Militancy is again raising its head in Punjab. Because there is a wealth of experience available, the state government might very well form an ‘Anti-Terror Advisory Committee’ comprising retired police officers who were at the forefront of anti-terrorist operations in the 1980s and 1990s. Former police officers recommend that in the face of fresh dangers, the Monthly Intelligence Review (Pink Book), which was formed during the height of terrorism by former DGP Intelligence, OP Sharma, be re-launched and distributed to all districts. This will make it easier to recover historical documents and track the activities of various militant organisations and their members who are now engaged as ready reckoners.
Security experts say that in the aftermath of events in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, as well as Punjab, the three state police forces should form an ‘Anti-Terrorism Coordination Centre’ that would collaborate with officials from the BSF and the Intelligence Bureau (IB). Given the potential link between gangsters and terrorists, the proposed cell should also collaborate with the newly formed Anti-Gangster Task Force.
With the state’s insurgent past in the 1980s and the 1990s, Punjab, which is also a crucial border state, cannot be allowed to slide into anarchy. The Union government should keep a close watch and act accordingly to stop the sinister design of the Khalistanis.
Yuvraj Pokharna is an independent journalist and columnist. He tweets with @pokharnaprince. Views expressed are personal.
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