Delhi Court refuses to grant transit remand of Amritpal, Amrik Singh

NEW DELHI: Delhi's Patiala House Court on Monday refused to grant transit remand of two alleged operatives of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) Amritpal and Amrik Singh to Punjab police stating that the application is belated.

The two accused are currently in judicial custody in an NIA case.

The accused are allegedly associated with Canada-based terrorist Arshdeep Dhalla.

Duty Metropolitan Magistrate Isha Singh noted that the accused persons were to be produced before the concerned Court today in Punjab on a production warrant issued.

Court said that the application has been filed today at 11:55 AM and it would take 5-6 hours to reach Ludhiana.

"Even if the application to carry the accused persons to Punjab is allowed it would be possible to produce the accused the before the court before 5 PM. This application is belated," the court noted.

"If the above-mentioned had to be produced before the concerned court in Jagraon, Punjab, the IO should have filed the application in time," the judge said.

Punjab police had sought their transit remand in a case of extortion registered at the police Jagraon Sadar, District Ludhiana, Punjab.

Earlier Punjab police had registered a case under sections related to extortion, the Arms Act, and UAPA in January 2023.

On June 6, the Court remanded two accused Amritpal Singh alias Ammy and Amrik Singh in judicial custody after NIA.

They were arrested under UAPA after deportation from Manila Philipines on May 19 at the IGI Airport.

Special judge Shailendra Malik had remanded both the accused persons in judicial custody till July 4.

NIA has interrogated them in connection with the alleged involvement in the recruitment of youth for KTF and also involvement in the smuggling and procurement of Arms and Ammunition and raising funds for the organization.

The accused had non-bailable arrest warrants issued against them by the NIA Court in a case related to the unlawful and violent activities of banned organizations in India.

They also have several criminal cases registered against them in Punjab. NIA registered a suo moto case on 20th August last year under various sections of the IPC and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

According to NIA they are allegedly associated with Arshdeep Dhalla and involved in recruitment of youth for KTF and smuggling and procuring of arms and ammunition.

They were both hailing from Punjab, were nabbed in an early morning operation by the NIA, whose team was waiting at the airport for their flight to land, the agency said.

"The two are 'wanted' close associates of Canada-based 'listed terrorist' Arsh Dhalla on Friday when they arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from Manila, Philippines, where they have been living," the agency said in a Press release.

The duo, identified as Amritpal Singh alias Ammy and Amrik Singh, both hailing from Punjab, were nabbed in an early morning operation by the NIA, whose team was waiting at the Airport for their flight to land.

NIA investigations have revealed that the accused had entered into a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for the banned terrorist organization Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), and also smuggle arms, ammunition, and explosives for it from across the border.

The accused had been working for individual designated terrorist Arshdeep Singh Dhalla to promote violent criminal activities of the KTF in India, NIA. In association with another notorious wanted accused Manpreet Singh alias Peeta, they had been involved in smuggling weapons from Pakistan and recruitment of youth to carry out acts of violence and terror in the country at the behest of the KTF.

They were also part of an extortion racket for raising funds for the banned outfit. The accused used to identify extortion targets, including businessmen, and then threaten them into parting with huge amounts. In case the identified targets refused, their homes and other premises would be fired at by the accused's India-based associates.

The arrests were part of NIA's continuous crackdown on individual terrorists and terrorist outfits engaged in a criminal conspiracy to smuggle terrorist hardware, such as arms, ammunition, explosives, etc, and raise funds for carrying out terrorist acts on Indian soil. Further investigations in the