Jammu, (Samajweekly) J&K Police said on Thursday that it has booked a suspected bodyguard of fugitive ‘Waris Punjab De’ leader, Amritpal Singh under the Arms Act in Kishtwar district.
Varinder Singh was booked under the Arms Act in connection with a gun licence issued to him in 2014 by the District Magistrate of Kishtwar, police said.
The Kishtwar district administration has cancelled Varinder Singh’s licence, and decided to probe as to how the former army jawan, who was sacked in 2015, obtained the licence and then kept renewing it from different districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Police said Varinder Singh, also known as Fauji, was part of a private security set up of Amritpal Singh, and a video clip recently showed Varinder Singh opening fire in the air.
After the clip appeared, the Punjab Police arrested him last week under the National Security Act and lodged him in a jail in Assam.
Kishtwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Khalil Poswal said: “We have lodged an FIR number 52/2023 under section 3/25/30 Arms Act and the provisions of IPC in police station Kishtwar.
“The details of the case have been sent to Punjab Police and we have sought documents from them. We will seek the presence of Varinder Singh, who will be brought here to conduct investigation and to find out how he reached here and how he got licence from here.
“He was a soldier and was terminated in 2015. After issuance, his gun licence was getting renewed. The licence has been validated till 2025 from Ramban, Reasi, Baramulla and Kathua districts.”
