PILIBHIT: After having stepped up surveillance in Uttar Pradesh districts on the border with Nepal, security agencies have succeeded in digging up sensitive information that Amritpal Singh, a radical preacher, had stayed in two districts, Pilibhit and Lakhimpur-Kheri along with his close aide and mentor Papalpreet Singh between March 23 and 28.
Papalpreet is a resident of Majitha in Amritsar and both of them have been on the run for nearly two weeks.
The authorities are now trying to trace their links at the local level. Sleuths from several security agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau, said Papalpreet's relatives in a village at Pilibhit bordering Lakhimpur-Kheri are suspected of harbouring the fugitives during their stay in Pilibhit and Lakhimpur.
Meanwhile, Joga Singh, the user of a Scorpio vehicle that belonged to the chief jathedar of Badhapura Gurudwara at Pilibhit, Baba Mohan Singh, has been arrested by Punjab police, along with the driver, Gurwant Singh.
"I have over two dozen vehicles registered in my name. These are usually used by kar seva teams for gurudwara work. Joga's phone remained switched off since the time he left for Punjab and I have had no communication with him for three months," claimed Mohan Singh on Thursday.
Notably, Papalpreet was booked for sedition and arrested by Punjab police in 2015 after his links with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI were traced.
Pilibhit superintendent of police Atul Sharma said that the security agencies did not share any information on the matter with him.
