India: Raids to arrest Amrit Pal Singh, many arrested

 India: Raids to arrest Amrit Pal Singh, multiple arrests Indian authorities on Monday extended a mobile internet blackout in the northern state of Punjab amid efforts to arrest a top leader of the Sikh separatist Khalistan movement. Thus, this state with a population of about 30 million people will be deprived of mobile internet for another 24 hours.

The blackout was extended following incidents in which supporters of separatist Sikh leader Amrit Pal Singh ransacked and ransacked Indian consulates in San Francisco and London.

Over a hundred arrests
Authorities in Punjab launched a major search operation for Singh on Saturday.

Amrit Pal Singh has come to the fore in recent months calling for a separate homeland for Sikhs called Khalistan.

Police said on Monday that they have arrested 114 people so far, but Singh's whereabouts were not known.
Attacks on Indian embassies in the US and UK
Videos posted online showed Sikh protesters breaking the doors and windows of the Indian consulate in San Francisco. Barricades were erected outside the building.

The #FreeAmritpal slogan was sprayed on the property as several dozen protesters gathered outside. An Indian official said that the Indian Ministry of External Affairs is seriously reviewing these videos.
Indian officials have said that after Singh's supporters ransacked outside the Indian High Commission in London, the top British diplomat posted in New Delhi was summoned.

According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, there was a "complete absence" of British police from the scene and "the indifference of the British government towards the safety of Indian diplomatic Videos on social media, confirmed by French news agency AFP's Fact Check, showed a man climbing the consulate's balcony and taking down an Indian flag, watched by a small group below waving yellow Khalistan flags.

Arrest in London
British police say they have arrested a man on charges of rioting and vandalism. I condemn today's defamatory actions - it is completely unacceptable.

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Raid on the police station
Thirty-year-old Amrit Pal Singh and his supporters stormed a police station armed with swords, knives, and guns last month. Police arrested one of Singh's aides for alleged assault and attempted kidnapping. Indian media said concerning security sources that Singh has the support of traditional rival Pakistan.

Several police personnel was injured in the attack which took place during the day on the outskirts of Amritsar. The attack put pressure on the authorities to take action.

Old wounds healed?
The vast state of Punjab is about 58 percent Sikh and 39 percent Hindu. The state was rocked by a violent pro-Khalistan separatist movement in the 1980s and early 1990s.

During this time, thousands of people were killed. India has often complained to foreign governments about the activities of hardline Sikhs among the Indian diaspora, who it says are trying to revive insurgency with massive financial pressure.
Indian authorities often shut down mobile internet services in the name of security, especially in the troubled northern region of Kashmir.