‘Hit list' lays bare infighting in radical MP Amritpal Singh-led outfit Waris Punjab De
The list was posted by close Amritpal aide Baljit Singh, also known as 'Chacha Baghel Singh', on his Facebook page last week. It contains the addresses, phone numbers and reasons for inclusion of the 15 people–including religious preachers, advocates and social activists–who were once instrumental in Amritpal's rise but are now believed to have turned against him.
Chandigarh: A so-called 'hit list' of 15 Sikh activists opposed to Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh has surfaced on social media, leading to a furore in the radical preacher's outfit, Waris Punjab De (WPD), with those named alleging it was an open threat aimed at silencing dissent.
In his Facebook post, Baljit claimed that he had not compiled the list, which was a part of an official document. He said he had merely made it public to show how growing differences in the WPD and complaints of 'imagined threats' from Amritpal's critics had led to an extension of the MP's detention under the National Security Act (NSA).
The list, a grim reminder of the dark days of militancy when such 'hit lists' were issued to generate terror, is believed to be one of several grounds listed by the Punjab government for extending NSA detention of Amritpal.
The grounds of detention prepared by the district magistrate, along with its annexures, were reportedly handed over to Amritpal last month as part of the official process undertaken for detention under the NSA. However, it's not clear how the grounds of detention reached social media.
Amritsar district magistrate Sakshi Sawhney said she was not authorised to speak on this matter.
Advocate Imaan Singh Khara, the chief spokesperson of Amritpal's party, the Akali Dal (WPD), and the party's legal head, told ThePrint Sunday the list was a part of the 30-page grounds of detention prepared by the government in Amritpal's case.
'The detention documents run into thousands of pages and their summary of about 30 pages has this list,' said Khara. 'However, we have not shared the orders or the list with anyone. We have no idea how it has reached social media.'
He added that the detention orders issued afresh for the third time will be challenged in the Supreme Court. 'We are in talks with advocates and will be challenging the detention orders under Article 32 of the Constitution.'
The Article gives citizens the right to approach the SC for constitutional remedies when their fundamental rights are violated.
Amritpal was chosen as WPD head in March 2022, following the death of its founder Deep Sidhu. Last year, Amritpal was elected as the Khadoor Sahib MP, securing the highest number of votes in Punjab. In September, Amritpal's family and supporters had launched his political party.
This isn't the first time a 'hit list' of Amritpal's critics has surfaced. Last year, Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav mentioned a list of those opposed to Amritpal following the murder of radical activist Gurpreet Singh Harinau, a friend-turned-critic of the Sikh radical. However, the names on the list were not revealed.
Harinau was killed in September, allegedly by gangsters. Amritpal was named in the murder case in November 2024.
Yadav made the statement while announcing that Amritpal has been booked for Harinau's murder, saying electronic evidence pointed towards Amritpal's alleged involvement in the murder.
Religious leader Sukhjit Singh Khose, a well-known critic of Amritpal, told the media Friday that police should investigate the authenticity of the list issued by Baljit Singh. 'What are the police doing? A hit list is issued from America. We are not even sure whether it is authentic or not. But the government needs to find out,' he said.
Senior Punjab Police officers said they were looking into the matter.
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Internal differences
Baljit, who claims to be working as a delivery boy in the US, posted the 'hit list' on his Facebook page, accusing those named of being 'touts' of the government working against Amritpal to ensure he remained in jail.
He went live on his Facebook page Friday to explain that he had not prepared the list and it was not aimed as a threat. He said the list was part of official documents and could be procured by anyone under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
He said that he only aimed to highlight how the government was using emerging differences between WPD members. He added that some of those named had not even approached the police, saying they did not believe they were under threat from Amritpal and his supporters.
Baljit, however, added that some others on the list had given written statements to the police saying they faced a threat to their life.
While Baljit's page 'Chacha Baghel Singh' was blocked Sunday, his move to make the list public has elicited a strong response from Amritpal's critics.
Activist Sukhraj Singh, who was once an associate of Gurpreet Harinau and is now a close aide of Harinau's family, went live on his Facebook page to allege that Amritpal was close to the government, not his critics.
He said that Amritpal was 'desperate' to surrender when he was on the run from the police following the crackdown on him and his supporters in March 2023.
Sukhraj added that Amritpal claimed to be in touch with top government officials to secure a surrender. Sukhraj also released an audio recording of London-based radical Avtar Singh Khanda to back his allegations. Khanda died in June 2023.
Sukhraj Singh's father was among those killed in police firing while protesting against the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015. He has been leading the campaign for justice in the sacrilege and subsequent police firing cases.
Sukhpreet Harinau, brother of slain Gurpreet Harinau, posted on Facebook Thursday that open death threats were issued against these 15 persons on the list by alleged supporters of Amritpal during a TikTok discussion.
Posting a screen recording of the TikTok conversation, Sukhpreet said that Chacha Baghel Singh and Pipal Singh were also part of the conversation. Pipal Singh is wanted in the Ajnala police station attack case of February 2023.
Sukhpreet's 56-minute audio recording, allegedly with Amritpal in 2021, had gone viral last month. Released by Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, the recording has Amritpal allegedly talking about his links with gangsters and handling their stashed loot of money and gold.
When Amritpal's family rejected the recording as being generated using artificial intelligence, Sukhpreet had challenged Amritpal's family to share his voice sample for a voice examination to ascertain the truth of the audio recording.
'Will complain'
Sukhpreet asked his supporters on Facebook Sunday to gather details of all threats being issued to Amritpal's critics on social media by Chacha Baghel Singh's 'trolling gang', so that legal action could be initiated against them.
'Before Gurpreet was murdered, we had received similar threats, but we never took them seriously. A few days later, Gurpreet was killed. This time, we are going to take all these threats seriously,' wrote Sukhpreet.
Advocate Simranjit Singh, who is representing the Harinau family in the Gurpreet Harinau murder case, told the media Friday that Amritpal and his supporters had started targeting him also after he supported Harinau's family following Gurpreet's murder.
'I have represented Amritpal Singh in three cases. But now I'm being threatened through VPN calls and messages. They are using the darknet to hire contract killers. They are putting pressure on me to withdraw from the Harinau case,' he alleged.
Simranjit told ThePrint Saturday that he was in the process of drafting a complaint in the matter.
He added that Baljit Singh belonged to Gurdaspur and was a motor mechanic. 'He went to the US some years ago and has a gang of five to seven truck drivers who create multiple fake IDs and try to troll every good person in Punjab,' he said.
Advocate Parminder Singh Vig, who challenged Amritpal's election in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, told the media Friday that issuing the hit list by 'Chacha Baghel Singh's trolling gang was a form of cyber terrorism to pressure those against Amritpal'.
'Unfortunately, there was a time when I had helped them, but as more and more layers of their system came to the fore, I realised what kind of people they are,' he said, adding that legal action would be initiated against those responsible for issuing the 'hit list'.
Sikh activist Bhagat Singh Doabia, the petitioner in the election case against Amritpal, told the media Friday that critics of Amritpal had on several occasions offered to undergo lie detector tests and forensic examination of the proof they provided against Amritpal. But neither Amritpal nor his family had accepted the challenge.
'Instead, they were using all means to silence and scare those against them.'
'Infighting unfortunate'
Amritpal's paternal uncle Sukhchain Singh told ThePrint Sunday that the ongoing fight on the internet over the hit list was 'unfortunate'. Everyone should remain united for the sake of the Sikh community, he said, adding that the list had been prepared by the police.
'Some people are jealous of Amritpal because he has risen so much and made a place in the hearts of the people. They have been speaking against him,' Sukhchain said. 'The police have taken advantage of that and prepared a list of these persons, saying that their lives are under threat. Then they used this list to make sure that Amritpal remains in jail.'
He added that those expressing outrage were upset about being questioned about their role in helping the police extend Amritpal's detention under the NSA.
Charandeep Singh Bhinder, a close aide of Amritpal's family, told ThePrint Sunday that all efforts will be made to counsel those against the MP so that the ongoing internal battle can be stopped.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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