Amritpal Singh arrested: 5 facts about radical preacher

On the run since March 18, Amritpal Singh was arrested more than a month after the police launched a crackdown against him

Amritpal Singh was arrested Sunday morning after he was surrounded by the Punjab police at a gurudwara in Moga, ending a month-long chase for the radical preacher.

"Amritpal Singh has been arrested from the Rode village in Moga district, Punjab on the basis of specific intelligence," Punjab Inspectors-General of Police, Sukhchain Singh Gill, said. He was arrested under the National Security Act, he added. The act allows for those deemed a threat to national security to be detained without charge for up to a year.

Singh has now been taken to Dibrugarh in Assam.

Here are the five facts about the radical preacher:

1) On the run since March 18, Singh was arrested more than a month after the police launched a crackdown against him after his supporters -- some of them brandishing swords and guns -- stormed the Ajnala police station in Amritsar, demanding release of an arrested associate.

2) Amritpal Singh was last year anointed the head of 'Waris Punjab De' --- a radical group founded by actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, which is said to be active in Amritsar.

3) Singh rose to fame after he revived talk of an independent Sikh homeland (Khalistan), the struggle for which had sparked deadly violence in the country in the 1980s and 1990s.

4) Amritpal Singh and his supporters have been accused of attempted murder, creating disharmony, attack on police personnel and obstructing the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

5) He is married to a UK-based non-resident Indian, Kirandeep Kaur, who was stopped by immigration officials at the Amritsar airport Thursday while she was trying to board a flight to London. The duo tied the knot in February.

(With inputs from agencies)