An aide of a self-styled religious preacher in Punjab will be released from custody, the police said on Thursday, after hundreds of his supporters overran a police station near the state's Amritsar city in a demonstration against his arrest.
"They have given enough proof that he (Lovepreet Toofan) is innocent. SIT (Special Investigation Team) has taken note of it. These people will peacefully disperse now, and the law will take its course," Amritsar Police Commissioner Jaskaran Singh told news agency ANI.
The announcement came after Amritpal Singh, who heads an organisation called the 'Waris Punjab De', led a mob of hundreds, armed with guns and swords, into a police station and demanded his associate Lovepreet Toofan Singh be released within 24 hours.
Police had arrested Toofan Singh for allegedly kidnapping and beating up a man. He is a member of the Amritpal Singh-led group that was founded by actor and activist Deep Sidhu who died in a road accident in February last year.
"The FIR was registered only with a political motive. If they don't cancel the case in one hour, the administration will be responsible for whatever happens next... They think we can't do anything, so this show of strength was necessary," Amritpal Singh said.
Earlier, in scenes that rivalled the spectacle of a big-budget film, his armada breached the fencing outside the Ajnala Police Station, with swords and guns, and corralling what appeared to be a small bus with loudspeakers.
"It's not true that police personnel have been injured. In fact, 10-12 of our people were hurt. Within 24 hours, Toofan Singh should be released," Amritpal Singh, who has often backed calls for a separate nation for Sikhs called Khalistan, said.
According to reports, he had recently threatened Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying he will "meet the same fate" as that of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who was assassinated by her bodyguards for sending the military inside Amritsar's Golden Temple for Operation Blue Star.
Baiting Mr Shah once again, Amritpal Singh on Thursday said, "Amit Shah had said that won't let the Khalistan movement rise. I had said that the same was done by Indira Gandhi and if you do the same then you will have to face consequences. Let's see if he can remain Home Minister if says the same thing to those demanding 'Hindu Rashtra'."
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