A rally was taken out on Wednesday in Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur by a group of people in support of absconding pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh, leading the police to serve a notice to the organisers of the event which had no prior permission from authorities. The rally, a foot march which started from Telibandha and comprised a small group of people visibly belonging to the Sikh community, culminated in front of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office located in nearby Panchsheel Nagar, police said. The demonstrators also burnt an effigy of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, a senior leader of the AAP, which rules the northern state.
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After the police learnt about the rally, which was taken out without prior permission from authorities, a notice was issued to the persons who had organised the event, Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal told PTI. He did not provide further details.
Talking to the media, a protester, who identified himself as Diler Singh, said Amritpal Singh was innocent and accused the Punjab government and security agencies of falsely implicating him.
Amritpal Singh was fighting against addiction and keeping youth away from it and also uniting them with religion, he said.
Asked about the rally, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel told reporters in Assembly premises that the local administration has been keeping an eye on the issue. Talking to mediapersons, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Brijmohan Agrawal termed the incident as very unfortunate and said the rally was taken out at a time when the Assembly is in session in the state capital.
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The Khalistani separatist, who heads the Waris Punjab De, is on the run since the Punjab police launched a massive manhunt for the outfit's members. Amritpal Singh was on the radar of the Punjab police after he and his armed followers stormed a police station in Ajnala last month to release one of his aides.
