Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh arrested after weeks on the run

Authorities say Heirs of Punjab leader incited attack on police station

Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, centre, at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. AFP

A Sikh separatist leader accused of plotting attacks on security forces has been arrested in northern Punjab after being on the run for weeks, authorities said on Sunday.

Amritpal Singh, who leads a separatist group called Waris Punjab De, or “Heirs of Punjab,” has been a prominent separatist since 2022 and went on the run last month after his followers stormed a police station armed with clubs and knives.

Punjab has been the scene of Sikh separatist violence since the early 1980s, when insurgents loyal to the Khalistan Movement — whose followers seek a state of the same name — launched a campaign against government forces.

State police tweeted on Sunday that Mr Singh was arrested in the town of Moga. It gave no details but appealed to people to maintain peace and harmony.

A Sikh religious leader, Jasbir Singh Rodde, said Mr Singh surrendered to police after offering morning prayers at a Sikh shrine in Moga. Officers arrested him and took him away, he said.

Thousands of paramilitary soldiers have been combing the state and arrested nearly 100 of Mr Singh's supporters. His wife was prevented from leaving India last week.

Very little was known about Mr Singh until he arrived in Punjab in 2022 and began leading marches calling for the protection of rights for Sikhs, who account for about 1.7 per cent of India’s population.

He claims to draw inspiration from Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a Sikh militant leader accused by the Indian government of leading an armed insurgency for Khalistan in the 1980s. Bhindranwale and his supporters were killed in 1984 when the Indian army stormed the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine in the Sikh religion.

Waris Punjab De was part of a massive campaign to mobilise farmers against proposed agriculture reforms by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

The legislation led to a year of protests that began in 2020, as farmers — most of them Sikhs from Punjab state — camped on the outskirts of New Delhi through a harsh winter and devastating coronavirus surge. The protests ended after Mr Modi's government withdrew the legislation in November 2021.

Waris Punjab De was founded by Deep Sidhu, an Indian actor who died in 2022 in a traffic accident.

The Khalistan movement is banned in India, where officials see it as a national security threat. The movement has waned over the years, but still has some support in Punjab and beyond — including in countries like Canada, the US and the UK, which are home to a sizeable Sikh diaspora.