Khalistani Separatist "Used Crowd As Cover" During Chase: Punjab Top Cop

During a car chase, Amritpal Singh's supporters had deliberately crashed into motorbikes to divert police attention.

The followers of Amritpal Singh, the Khalistani separatist currently on the run, had led the police on a merry chase, finally entering a market from where they had to be fished out one by one. While Singh managed to give police the slip, 78 of his associates were arrested, said the top cop leading the massive ongoing search operation.

"We had decided not to use lethal force in this operation... We chased him for 16-17 km. He took cover in a crowded place," Swapan Sharma, the police chief of Punjab's Jalandhar, told NDTV in an exclusive interview held during a flag march in the city today. "We are closing in on him… There are six or seven FIRs against him," he added.

During the car chase, Amritpal Singh's supporters had deliberately crashed into motorbikes to divert police attention. Two vehicles of the convoy of "Waris Punjab De" chief have been seized by the police.

"We were directed to nab him (Amritpal Singh). While chasing, he ended up on a one-lane link road ahead of us. While outrunning us he crashed into several motorbike riders, some were with the motive to divert us from the chase," Mr Swapan Sharma was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India today.