India arrests Sikh separatist leader after long manhunt

ANKARA

Indian police on Sunday arrested separatist leader Amritpal Singh, who has renewed calls for an independent Sikh homeland and was on the run for over a month.

Police in the northern state of Punjab tweeted that Singh, 30, was arrested in the town of Moga.

Singh, a self-styled preacher, rose to prominence earlier this year by voicing support for the Khalistan movement, which calls for the secession of Punjab for the creation of an independent state for India’s Sikh religious minority.

He leads a group known as Waris Punjab De, or Heirs of Punjab, which was part of the massive protests staged by farmers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s contentious agriculture reforms.

The group was formed by actor and activist Deep Sidhu, who died in a car crash last year, after which Singh became its head.

Singh’s supporters stormed a police station in Punjab in February, wielding guns and swords, to demand the release of an arrested aide.

“Amritpal Singh was arrested by Punjab police at around 6.45 a.m. (0115 GMT) on Sunday morning. He was absconding for more than one month,” Sukhchain Singh Gill, the state’s top police official, told reporters.

He said Singh was arrested under the National Security Act and has been moved to a jail in the northeastern state of Assam.

Local broadcaster NDTV earlier reported that Singh surrendered to police after offering prayers at a Sikh shrine in the village of Rode.

He also addressed his followers at the shrine in Moga, which is also the birthplace of militant Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed by the Indian military in 1984 during an operation at the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs.

Indian authorities launched a massive manhunt for Singh and his supporters last month. Many of his aides were caught but he evaded arrest for weeks.

The Punjab government even suspended mobile internet and messaging services at a point to restrict the group’s communications.

More than 100 people were arrested in the crackdown, most of whom were later released.

The operation sparked pro-Khalistan protests at Indian diplomatic missions in several countries, including the US, UK and Canada.

A part of India’s Sikh community launched the Khalistan movement in the late 1970s, triggering a wave of deadly violence that claimed thousands of lives in Punjab, where Sikhs are in majority.

While Sikh secessionism has largely died down in India, pro-Khalistan groups have remained active internationally.