Amritpal Singh hiding in Nepal

India has requested the Nepal government not to allow fugitive radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who is believed to be hiding in Nepal, to flee to a third country and arrest him if he attempts to escape using an Indian passport or any other fake passport, a media report said on Monday. In a letter sent to the Department of Consular Services on Saturday, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has requested the government agencies to arrest Singh if he tries to flee from Nepal, the Kathmandu Post newspaper reported. There was no immediate confirmation about the letter from the Indian mission here.

"Singh is currently hiding in Nepal," the paper said, citing a copy of the letter obtained by it.

"The esteemed ministry is requested to inform the Department of Immigration not to permit Amritpal Singh to travel through Nepal for any third country and arrest him if he attempts to escape from Nepal using Indian Passport or any other fake passport under intimation to this mission," it said.

The letter and Singh's personal details have been circulated to all the concerned agencies from hotels to airlines, the paper said, citing multiple sources. Singh, who is said to be possessing multiple passports with different identities, has been on the run since March 18 when the police launched a crackdown against him. The elusive preacher gave the police the slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Punjab's Jalandhar district. Meanwhile, the Home Ministry has directed all security agencies to be on high alert in the Nepal-India border area.

Akal Takht Jathedar GianiHarpeet Singh on Monday gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the state government to release all Sikh youths who were held during the police crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his aides.

He also condemned the state government for invoking the National Security Act against a few persons during the police crackdown. The Jathedar of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, had convened a special gathering of Sikh organizations, including intellectuals, Sikh lawyers, journalists, religious and social leaders here to discuss the current situation in Punjab following the March 18 action against elements of 'Waris Punjab De' headed by Amritpal Singh. Addressing the gathering, the Jathedar gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the Punjab government for releasing all Sikh youths in Punjab, saying otherwise the anger of Sikh community would remain simmering. He also attacked certain TV channels, accusing them of promoting hate propaganda against Sikhs by describing the youths who have been held as separatists.

The Jathedar asked the state government to revoke the detention of some persons under the NSA and demanded that those who have been sent to Dibrugarh jail in Assam should be brought back to Punjab so that law can take its own course. He said it would be wrong to say that there was a threat to national security due to the Sikhs who have been detained. Without naming anyone, Singh said the NSA should also then be invoked against those who speak about 'Hindu Rashtra.'