Cracks in the Crackdown

If at all there was a trail, it seemed to consist of taunts coming from the fugitive. By March 29 evening, there had been two in succession.

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

The endgame for Khalistani propagandist Amritpal Singh was still an open script at that stage—arrest, surrender, anything was possible—but for now it was showing up one of the biggest manhunts of recent times as a shambolic chase after shadows. On March 27, a selfie of Amritpal and aide Papanpreet Singh popped up on social media platforms. With Ray-Ban aviators, a sweatshirt and a loosely tied maroon turban, it was an insouciant contrast from his usual sombre attire. Sipping on cans of energy drinks, the duo looked fairly unconcerned that they were No. 1 on Punjab Police’s most wanted list, with the whole might of the force—and indeed, of central investigation agencies—hot on his heels. Two days later, he scaled up. It was a video this time, mocking the cops for not arresting him at his home, comparing the crackdown on his Waris Punjab De group as an atrocity against the entire Sikh community, and responding to the Akal Takht jathedar’s appeal and asking that he convene a sarbat khalsa—a convention of all Sikh sects—on April 13, Baisakhi day. Amritpal showed no intent of surrender. That seemed to cock a snook at the hints police officers had been putting out all day: that it could happen any time, and he was merely negotiating terms.

To be sure, no one knows when exactly the selfie was taken, or who was putting out the video. Whatever information was there was a patchwork of shards: the hazy CCTV footage cops had been leaking, claiming various sightings of Amritpal, or news that central agencies had shared details of the duo with authorities in Nepal, voicing concerns that Amritpal had crossed the borders and could be attempting to flee to the UK from Kathmandu.