Chandigarh, Mar 18, 2025, IANS

Guwahati, March 18 (IANS) The authorities in the Dibrugarh Central Jail on Tuesday have handed over the fourth aide of pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh to the Punjab Police team that has been stationed here to take the custody of seven associates of Singh, officials said. Identified as Daljit Singh Kalsi, he was handed over to the security personnel of the Punjab Police on Tuesday. Earlier, another three aides of Amritpal Singh -- Basant Singh, Gurmeet Singh, and Bhagwant Singh -- were handed over to the Punjab Police team by Dibrugarh jail authority. The Punjab Police is set to bring back seven associates of the radical preacher and Lok Sabha MP Amritpal Singh from Assam's Dibrugarh jail as the Punjab government has decided not to extend their detention under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). These seven individuals' detention period is about to end, and the state administration has chosen not to prolong their NSA detention. Amritpal Singh, the leader of the 'Waris Punjab De' group, and his nine associates had spent the last two years in the Dibrugarh jail in Assam as NSA was slapped on them. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Amritpal Singh contested as an Independent candidate and emerged victorious from the Khadoor Sahib seat. Basant Singh, Bhagwant Singh Bajekhana, Gurmeet Singh Bukkanwal, Daljit Singh Kalsi, Gurinderpal Singh Guri Aujla, Harjit Singh, and Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal are among Amritpal Singh's associates who would be returned to Punjab. According to a top Punjab Police official, the inquiry into the 2023 attack incident at the Ajnala police station would continue. The official also said that 10 individuals who were detained under the NSA have not yet been formally arrested in connection with the attack on the Ajnala police station. "We are moving forward with the investigation. We will arrest the seven individuals in that incident and return them to Punjab," he added. "We will bring them here in that case and take forward the investigation," the senior police official said.