Guwahati, March 22: Altogether, seven suspected aides of fugitive Khalistan sympathiser and ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh are currently lodged at Dibrugarh Central Jail in Upper Assam, the district administration confirmed on Wednesday.
“A total of seven persons have been brought from Punjab and booked under the National Security Act (NSA). We have made tight security arrangements. In fact, a multi-layer security arrangement has been ensured, including in and around the place where they are staying,” Dibrugarh deputy commissioner Biswajit Pegu informed mediapersons on Wednesday.
Reportedly, Assam Police commandos have been deployed to guard the area in and around Dibrugarh Central Jail to thwart any possible security breach by the arrested aides of the pro-Khalistan outfit leader.
“All the proceedings, etc, will take place in accordance with the provisions of the National Security Act,” the DC said, even as he could not confirm whether more persons from Punjab would be flown in and kept in the jail.
Notably, the prison in the Upper Assam town is the oldest jail in the Northeast. During the peak of militancy in Assam, several top leaders of United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent were lodged in the jail, stated to be the most secure prison in the state.
Regarding the entire exercise of bringing these aides of the fugitive leader to Dibrugarh, the DC said the initiative was a Centre-state collaboration.
He however could not divulge information on the names of the seven persons and how many days they would be kept or why Dibrugarh was chosen as the place to keep these persons in the prison.
It may be noted that four suspected aides of Amritpal Singh were on Sunday flown into Assam from Punjab by a special Air Force aircraft amidst tight security and kept at the jail.
They have been identified as Daljit Singh Kalsi, Bhagwant Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Pradhanmatri Bajeka.
On Tuesday morning, the absconding leader’s uncle Harjit Singh was brought to jail in Dibrugarh from Punjab via Guwahati.
Booked under the NSA, Harijit had earlier surrendered before the Punjab Police amid the ongoing crackdown against Waris Punjab De activists.
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