Papalpreet Singh, Amritpal Singh’s aide who escaped the police with him, is a missing piece in the overall jigsaw puzzle and is now in hands of the police.

According to Punjab officials, Radical preacher Amritpal Singh’s close aide Papalpreet Singh arrested today in Hoshiarpur

The Brain Behind Amritpal Singh

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s sudden rise in Punjab’s religio-political landscape from 1978 onwards has been a key focus area for Papalpreet Singh.

Some claim that Papalpreet fashioned the optics around Amritpal Singh to resemble the early days of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

“Papalpreet composed his photographs to resemble Bhindranwale’s well-known photographs in order to create an aura around Amritpal Singh. Amritpal’s photographs with journalists, children, and female followers are similar to Bhindranwale’s photographs with these groups “a senior Sikh journalist told the media.

Not only are the optics similar, but the emphasis on Dharam Prachar and de-addiction are similar to how Bhindranwale travelled across Punjab in the 1970s preaching against evils such as consumerism, pornography, and addiction.

A picture of Amritpal Singh with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in the background.  Papalpreet Singh Instagram

Amritpal Singh is far from Bhindranwale and lacks both religious training and ground support. But what Papalpreet appears to have accomplished with his emphasis on optics and symbolism is to create a simulation of what happened in the early stages of Bhindranwale.

This has been aided in no small part by the grievances caused by the state government’s and, to a lesser extent, the federal government’s policies.

It is currently unknown whether Amritpal Singh and Papalpreet Singh plotted an armed rebellion against the State, as many media outlets have claimed.

But, based on what we know about Papalpreet Singh, we can conclude that the call for Sarbat Khalsa was a trick to repeat the pro-Khalistan resolution passed in 1986 and the call for Khalistan made by Papalpreet in 2015.

What happens next will be heavily influenced by what the government, Akal Takht, and pro-Khalistan organizations do in the coming weeks. The Akal Takht Jathedar is unlikely to accept Amritpal Singh’s call for Sarbat Khalsa.

Will other pro-Khalistan organizations organize a gathering, as they did without official sanction in 1986 and 2015?

Or will they let it go, in which case Amritpal Singh and Papalpreet Singh’s gamble will fail?

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