NEW DELHI, March 20 — A manhunt for a radical Sikh preacher in India entered its second day on Sunday, as authorities shut mobile internet in the whole of Punjab state and arrested 112 of his supporters.
The brazen daytime raid in the outskirts of Amritsar — home to the holiest Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple — left several police injured and heaped pressure on authorities to act against Singh. On Sunday, there was a major police presence across Punjab, especially in rural pockets and around Singh’s village of Jallupur Khera, local media reported.
It was worried that social media could be used to spread rumours and misinformation which could spark street violence. New Delhi also sought “immediate steps to identify, arrest and prosecute” the suspects and demanded “an explanation for the complete absence of the British security that allowed these elements to enter” its official premises.