Chandigarh/Amritsar:
Jailed separatist Amritpal Singh, who is being brought to Delhi on parole to take oath as a Lok Sabha member, will be allowed to meet his family but won’t be permitted to leave the “territorial jurisdiction” of Delhi.
During his stay in the national capital, neither Mr Singh nor his relatives or family members can make a statement to any media, according to the conditions of his parole issued by the district magistrate of Amritsar from where he was arrested on April 23, 2023.
The Khalistani leader, who won from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat in the recent parliamentary elections while being lodged in a jail in Assam’s Dibrugarh, is scheduled to take oath tomorrow.
Mr Singh, 31, will be flown in from Assam to Delhi for his oath and his parole period of four days will start from July 5, sources said on Wednesday.
The parole order, which mentions 10 conditions, stated that the period of temporary release will include the time taken for the journey from the central jail in Dibrugarh to Delhi and back.
He will “not enter the territorial jurisdiction of any place other than New Delhi during the period of temporary release”, it stated.
“Amritpal Singh or any of his relatives shall not be permitted to videograph any statement of Amritpal and/or circulate any such statement in any electronic form,” according to the order.
He will also “refrain from doing any action or making any statement that is prejudicial to national security”, it stated.
“The relatives of Amritpal, as defined under Section 2(c) of the Punjab Detenue (Condition of Detention) Order, 1981, shall be allowed to meet him during the period he is housed in New Delhi,” the order stated.
On the deployment of security personnel for Mr Singh, the order stated he would be accompanied by as many police personnel as is deemed appropriate by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Amritsar (Rural).
These personnel will be there with him from the time he is temporarily released from jail till he returns to the prison for the continuation of his period of detention, it stated.
For the period, when Mr Singh is present within the precincts of the Parliament, “he shall be accompanied by such number of police personnel, or other security personnel as permitted by the Secretary General, Lok Sabha,” the order stated.
It added that for the period, when Mr Singh is not required in the precincts of Parliament, he shall be “housed at such place in New Delhi as is deemed appropriate by the SSP, Amritsar (Rural), after taking into account various security considerations”.
On Wednesday, Amritsar District Magistrate Ghamshyam Thori told PTI, “Amritpal Singh has been granted parole for up to four days or less beginning July 5 with certain conditions that have been communicated to the jail superintendent, Dibrugarh.”
Mr Singh, who heads the “Waris Punjab De” outfit and styled himself after the killed Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was jailed along with nine of his associates under the National Security Act.
He was arrested in Moga’s Rode village after he and his supporters on February 23 barged into the Ajnala police station breaking barricades, brandishing swords and guns, and clashed with police personnel in an attempt to free one of his aides from custody.
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