Jailed radical preacher Amritpal can meet family, no nod to move out of Delhi

Jailed radical preacher Amritpal Singh who is being brought to Delhi on parole to take oath as a Lok Sabha member will be allowed to meet his family but will not be permitted to leave the "territorial jurisdiction" of New Delhi.

During his stay in the national capital, neither Singh nor his relatives or family members can make a statement in any form of media, according to the conditions laid down in his parole order issued by the district magistrate of Punjab's Amritsar from where he was arrested on April 23 last year.

The Khalistani sympathiser, who won the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat in Punjab in the recent parliamentary elections while being lodged in a jail in Assam's Dibrugarh district, is scheduled to take oath on Friday.

Singh, 31, will be flown in from Assam to Delhi for taking oath and his parole period of four days starts from July 5, sources said on Wednesday.

The parole order, which mentions 10 conditions, stated that the period of temporary release will include the time taken for the journey from the central jail in Dibrugarh to New Delhi and back.

He will "not enter the territorial jurisdiction of any place other than New Delhi during the period of temporary release", it stated.

"Amritpal Singh or any of his relatives shall not be permitted to videograph any statement of Amritpal and/or circulate any such statement in any electronic form," according to the order.

He will also "refrain from doing any action or making any statement that is prejudicial to national security", it stated .

"The relatives of Amritpal, as defined under Section 2 (c) of the Punjab Detenue (Condition of Detention) Order, 1981, shall be allowed to meet him during the period he is housed in New Delhi," the order stated.

On deployment of security personnel for Singh, the order stated he will be accompanied by such a number of police personnel as is deemed appropriate by the senior superintendent of police, Amritsar (Rural).

These personnel will be there with him from the date and time of his temporary release from the jail, and till the time he returns to the prison for continuation of his period of detention, it stated.

For the time period, when Singh is present within the precincts of the Parliament, "he shall be accompanied by such number of police personnel, or other security personnel as permitted by the Secretary General, Lok Sabha," the order stated.

It added that for the period, when Singh is not required in the precincts of the Parliament, he shall be "housed at such place in New Delhi as is deemed appropriate by the SSP, Amritsar (Rural), after taking into account various security considerations".

The parole order stated that the SSP will coordinate with the Lok Sabha secretary general for compliance of the conditions.

On Wednesday, Amritsar District Magistrate Ghamshyam Thori told PTI, "Amritpal Singh has been granted parole for up to four days or less beginning July 5 with certain conditions that have been communicated to jail superintendent, Dibrugarh."

Singh, who heads the "Waris Punjab De" outfit and styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was jailed along with nine of his associates under the National Security Act.

He was arrested in Moga's Rode village after he and his supporters on February 23 barged into the Ajnala police station breaking barricades, brandishing swords and guns, and clashed with police personnel in an attempt to free one of his aides from custody.