Health of Fasting Sikh Leader Amritpal Singh Deteriorates in Jail
Health of Fasting Sikh Leader Amritpal Singh Deteriorates in Jail
ਸਿੱਖ ਆਗੂ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਡਿਬਰੂਗੜ੍ਹ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਵਿੱਚ
डिब्रूगढ़ जेल में सिख नेता अमृतपाल सिंह
By Rakesh Raman
A youth sikh leader Amritpal Singh – who has been incarcerated in the Dibrugarh jail of Assam – has been on hunger strike for the past about a month to protest against his wrongful confinement.
At a massive protest rally held today, March 17, in Amritsar (Punjab) to get Amritpal Singh and his companions released from jail, it was informed that the health condition of Amritpal Singh is deteriorating because of his hunger strike. Media reports also quote his lawyer who said that the jailed Sikh leader is vomiting blood.
Last month (February 2024), it was reported that a spy camera and a slew of other electronic items including smartphone, Bluetooth headphones and speakers, TV remote, and a smartwatch were found in the Dibrugarh jail cell of Amritpal Singh.
In April last year, Punjab Police had arrested Amritpal Singh and sent him and his nine companions to Dibrugarh jail of Assam where they have been imprisoned under the draconian National Security Act (NSA).
It is believed that since the NSA punishment of the Sikh leader and his associates is expected to end in March 2024, they are being implicated in fabricated cases to extend their jail term.
A lawyer of jailed Sikh leaders revealed in a video message in February that he received a phone call from Assam jail which told him that spy cameras have been recovered from the bathrooms of these prisoners, besides other electronic items.
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The lawyer asserted that the spy cameras have been secretly installed by the authorities to transmit private information of prisoners to either the Punjab Government or the central agencies.
He added in the video that Amritpal Singh and his companions will be blackmailed with these private images to further tarnish their reputation when their NSA punishment ends in March.
The jailed Sikh leaders, according to the lawyer, demand a reply from the Punjab Government of chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann which should clarify why their right to privacy was being violated. The lawyer said that the Sikh leaders are not feeling safe in Dibrugarh jail and must be transferred to some other Indian jail.
In June 2023 also, Amritpal Singh and his companions had gone on hunger strike in Dibrugarh jail in protest to complain about the poor quality of food and no access to telephone in the jail.
With the help of his followers, Amritpal Singh – who was trying to stop drug addiction in Punjab – supports a demand for a separate Sikh state Khalistan to bring peace and prosperity back to Punjab which is facing unprecedented unrest.
It is largely believed that since Amritpal Singh was leading a campaign against illegal drug trade and lawlessness in Punjab, the Bhagwant Mann government colluded with the central Indian government to implicate Amritpal Singh and his associates in false cases including the NSA.
Last year, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann – who is a member of parliament (MP) from Sangrur in Punjab – had expressed his apprehension that Amritpal Singh who is the leader of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ (or inheritors of Punjab) group may be eliminated by Punjab Police.
It is being observed in multiple cases that the Bhagwant Mann government is misusing police force to terrorize people who criticize his government for corruption and misgovernance in Punjab.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
