Member of Parliament (MP) from Khadoor Sahib and Chief of Waris Punjab De Amritpal Singh is likely to face an extension of his detention under the National Security Act (NSA), according to top sources.
Singh, who has been lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh Central Jail since his arrest in 2023 by the Punjab Police, is nearing the completion of his two-year detention period under the NSA on April 23.
Sources indicate that the decision to extend the 32-year-old MP’s detention was taken after high-level consultations between central and state security agencies, citing concerns over law and order in the sensitive border state. This means that the pro-Khalistani leader will continue to be in Dibrugarh jail.
However, nine of Amritpal’s associates are back after the state decided not to extend their detention. Of this, two of his aides were arrested in Mohali on April 18, 2023, in a joint operation by Punjab and Delhi Police.
REASONS FOR AMRITPAL’S DETENTION EXTENSION
Sources say that the Punjab state government is not keen on having a pro-khalistani leader back in the state. However, they will take the final decision after consulting with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the extension.
The Department of Home Affairs of Punjab has contacted MHA.
If Amritpal’s detention in Dibrugarh jail is not extended, the NSA will take action against him under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The UAPA (UAPA) had been invoked against him in connection with the murder case of Gurpreet Singh Harinow, a former finance secretary of the Waris Punjab De organisation, in January by the Faridkot Police.
Previously, his detention was extended for a period of 12 months. It became effective on April 23, 2024 and is supposed to last till April 22, 2025.
This came after an advisory board reported that even during his detention in Dibrugarh Jail, he continued to be involved in “subversive and separatist activities” that pose a threat to the state’s security and public order.
Additionally, unauthorised electronic devices, which were allegedly used by Amritpal Singh to maintain contact with associates outside jail, were recovered in February 2024. The investigations also revealed that a jail superintendent had facilitated the provision of these devices.
PUNJAB AWAITS MHA’S DECISION
Even when in custody, Amritpal Singh managed to win the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate by defeating his Congress rival by a significant margin of 1,97,120 votes.
In March 2025, the Punjab government decided not to extend the NSA detention for seven of his close aides, who were transferred back to Punjab to face legal proceedings in several other cases lodged against them, including the Ajnala Police Station attack of 2023.
Calling the Chief Minister of Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, an “anti-Sikh leader”, Amritpal’s lawyer, Harpal Singh Khara, has repeatedly called the extension of his detention “against the law”, as reported by news agency ANI.
While sources suggest that the government of Punjab has made preparations for the extension of his detention under the NSA, the final call will be taken by the MHA.
