Amritpal Singh Sandhu (born 17 January 1993)[3][4] is a radical[8] Indian pro-Khalistan separatist,[11] a self-styled Sikh preacher[13] and politician.

[14][15][16] After living in Dubai for a decade, he returned to Punjab in September 2022, having been controversially appointed as the leader of Waris Punjab De and started a campaign which encouraged youth to refrain from drugs, adopt a traditionalist form of Sikhism, and advocated a sovereign Punjabi Sikh nation state called Khalistan.

[37][38] Amritpal Singh grew up as a resident of Jallupur Khera, a village in the Baba Bakala tehsil of Amritsar district of Punjab, India into the Sandhu clan of Jatt Sikhs.

[40][41] After passing the 10th class, Amritpal enrolled in a diploma course in mechanical engineering at Lord Krishna Polytechnic College in Kapurthala in 2009.

[39][44] During the farmers' protest, the actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu attempted to broaden the agenda of the agitation into fighting for the "rights of Punjab".

[46] In Dubai, Amritpal Singh is said to have come in contact with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which has supported the Khalistan movement in the past.

Through them, he is said to have gotten in touch with Avtar Singh Khanda, a UK-based Sikh activist belonging to Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), whose father is a member of the Khalistan Liberation Force.

According to Indian intelligence, Khanda then groomed Amritpal Singh to be a Khalistan activist, including sending him to Georgia for training.

[24][21][51][b][c] After the sudden death of Deep Sidhu in February 2022,[54] a letter appeared on a Facebook account of Waris Punjab De on 4 March 2022 appointing Amritpal as the organisation's leader.

[57][39] A week later, a dastarbandi (turban tying ceremony) was held for him in the Rode village in Moga district, the native place of former militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

"Our waters are being looted", "our Guru is being desecrated", "factories encroached into our land", “our groundwater has depleted”, "our turbans are being disrespected", and “the head of our nation calls us keshdhari (long-haired) Hindus”.

[9][39][12] Soon after his initiation, Amritpal Singh started a campaign to motivate youth to shun drugs and irreligious (patit) lifestyle, calling them to the gurdwaras to receive baptism (amrit-sanchaar).

[62] Amritpal opened up a drug rehab facility and many, such as local journalists Amandeep Sandhu and Sandeep Singh (the latter having interviewed Amritpal in Dubai), attribute his wide popularity to his willingness to tackle social issues head-on, such as the drug problem, when previous governments have failed to solve these issues.

[63] Drug addiction and abuse are serious issues in Punjab, a study by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in 2022 revealed around 15.4% of the state's population of 30 million were narcotic users.

[63][64] Indian security agencies have stated that, although he presented himself as an anti-drug activist, he was in contact with people in Dubai and London who were involved in smuggling drugs into Punjab.

[65] Incongruously, his brother was arrested in 2024 in a drug case in Phillaur town for carrying methamphetamine, and a dope test confirmed positive results.

The protesters demanded that an FIR should be lodged against him under 295A of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) for "hurting religious sentiments and attempting to aggravate communal divisions".

[73] He threatened Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying that he will meet the same fate as Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.

[83] In November 2022, Sudhir Suri, a Shiv Sena politician was murdered by Sandeep Singh Sunny, who allegedly had a Waris Punjab De sticker on his vehicle.

Punjab Police placed Amritpal under a preemptive house arrest briefly, as a precautionary measure in anticipation of retaliatory violence against him, although he had no prior connection with Suri nor with the murder.

[d] Amritpal Singh was wanted for attempted murder, obstruction of law enforcement and creating disharmony in society[38] and was reported to be absconding.

[109] The Indian government also requested Twitter withhold 122 accounts linked to Amritpal Singh or Waris Punjab De.

[110] After 11 days of hideout on 29 March Amritpal Singh released a video urging the Sikh collective to gather for a Sarbat Khalsa.

[20][117] Photographs of Khalistani flags, emblems, currency, guns marked "A.K.F" (Anandpur Khalsa Fauj), videos of firing range and WhatsApp groups of A.K.F.

[118] Dubious deposits to the tune of nearly 40 Crore INR mostly from foreign sources were detected in the accounts of multiple members of Waris De Punjab.

[119] The agencies' reports claim that he has been raising his own army and 'human bomb squads' consisting of brainwashed youth as suicide bombers idolising Dilawar Singh.

[120][121] Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Harpreet Singh, accused the authorities of "creating an atmosphere of terror in the state".

[122] Journalists, politicians, and celebrities who criticised the heavy-handed response of the government have had their social media accounts blocked in India.

[124] Political opposition leader Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, denounced the actions of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government accusing it of "indiscriminately" arresting "innocent Amritdhari Sikh youth".

[132] In Canada, Sikh groups attacked the Indian High Commission in Ottawa and threw two grenades into the building, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.