Nepal on Monday put fugitive preacher Amritpal Singh on its surveillance list after India requested it not to allow him to flee to a third country and arrest him if he attempts to escape using an Indian passport or any other fake passport.
The move comes as the pro-Khalistani separatist is believed to be hiding in Nepal, as per several reports.
According to officials, the Department of Immigration has put Singh on its surveillance list following a request from the Indian Embassy here, PTI reported.
"We have received a written note along with a copy of his passport from the (Indian) embassy suspecting that Amritpal Singh might have entered Nepal," said Kamal Prasad Pandey, the Information Officer at the Department.
The Indian Embassy has sent the note asking the Department to put Singh, a member of a separatist group, on the surveillance list, Pandey stated.
The Kathmandu Post newspaper had earlier reported that in a letter sent to the Department of Consular Services on Saturday, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu requested the government agencies to arrest Singh if he tries to flee from Nepal.
"Singh is currently hiding in Nepal," the paper said, citing a copy of the letter obtained by it.
"The esteemed ministry is requested to inform the Department of Immigration not to permit Amritpal Singh to travel through Nepal for any third country and arrest him if he attempts to escape from Nepal using Indian Passport or any other fake passport under intimation to this mission," it said.
The letter and Singh's personal details have been circulated to all the concerned agencies from hotels to airlines, the paper said, citing multiple sources.
The Punjab Police had launched a crackdown against Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh and his aides on March 18. Amritpal Singh managed to give the police a slip. Since then, the Khalistani leader, has been on the run.
On Sunday, the Punjab Police said that it has released 197 people out of 353 taken into preventive custody on apprehension of breach of peace and disturbance of law and order.
Meanwhile, the highest temporal body of the Sikh community, the Akal Takht, sent out a strong message about the ongoing police crackdown in Punjab on Khalistani elements.
It asked the Punjab government to release all 'innocent' people arrested or detained as part of the ongoing crackdown on Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh. The takht also warned of legal action against news channels who have defamed the Sikhs.
(With PTI inputs)
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