Dibrugarh: A day after his re-arrest by Punjab Police following the expiry of his three-year National Security Act (NSA) detention, Amritpal Singh, chief of Waris Punjab De and Khadoor Sahib MP, was produced before a court in Dibrugarh on Friday via video-conference in connection with a case related to the recovery of unauthorised electronic devices from the NSA cell of Dibrugarh Central Jail in February 2024.
The proceedings, conducted before First Class Judicial Magistrate Chandan Saikia, saw Singh appear from the Dibrugarh Police Station, where he is currently being held under tight security. Nine of his associates, who were earlier lodged alongside him in Dibrugarh but later transferred to various jails in Punjab were also produced simultaneously via video-conference from Goindwal, Bhatinda and Patiala jails.
The case dates back to February 17, 2024, when the then Superintendent of Dibrugarh Central Jail, Nipen Das, recovered a spy-camera pen, a smartphone with a SIM card, a keypad phone, a TV remote with a keyboard, pen drives, Bluetooth headphones, speakers and a smartwatch from the high-security NSA cell where Singh and his nine aides were lodged. An FIR was subsequently registered at Dibrugarh Police Station. Notably, Das, himself was arrested on March 8, 2024, in connection with the same case and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Assam Prisons Act and criminal conspiracy.
Singh's counsel, Jasbir Kaur, said the proceedings were conducted through video-conference as permitted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. She stated that all detainees, including those lodged in jails in Punjab, were produced via video-conference.
Kaur added that two witnesses were produced on Friday. With one witness having been examined earlier, the defence has so far cross-examined three witnesses.
Singh was re-arrested by a Punjab Police team on Thursday, hours after his NSA detention expired at midnight on April 22. He was taken into two-day police custody in connection with the Ajnala police station attack case of February 2023. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had last week permitted the Punjab government to arrest him after the expiry of his NSA term, while allowing proceedings to be conducted via video-conference.
According to his counsel, Singh will remain at Dibrugarh Police Station until Saturday, after which he will be shifted back to Dibrugarh Central Jail.