The Amritsar police have been preparing for Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh’s arrest in connection with the Ajnala clash incident and were waiting for a nod and necessary instructions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a senior police official said.The Punjab Government has approached the high court seeking permission to arrest Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh in connection with the February 2023 Ajnala police station clash, following the expiry of his preventive detention under the National Security Act (NSA) on April 22.Speaking on condition of anonymity, the police official said that once the high court grants permission, a police team would visit Dibrugarh Jail to formally arrest him after completing all legal formalities required in this connection. He is likely to remain in the Assam jail as the government has sought his continued detention there under the amended Punjab Prisons Act.The trial is already underway against other accused arrested in the clash at the Ajnala sub-divisional court. Nine of Amritpal’s close aides, whose NSA detention was not extended by the state government last year, have been brought back to Punjab and are now in state police custody.Following his arrest, the trial against him would commence and arrangements would be made for his hearing via video conference, once the high court permits.The Ajnala violence caseThe clash between police and Amritpal’s supporters occurred on February 23, 2023, when Amritpal Singh, chief of Waris Punjab De, along with hundreds of supporters, stormed the Ajnala police station to protest the arrest of his associate Lovepreet Singh alias Toofan, a resident of Tibri village in Gurdaspur.The protesters broke barricades and clashed with police personnel at the entrance of the station, leaving several officers, including the then SP Jugraj Singh, injured.During the confrontation, the protesters carried the holy Guru Granth Sahib in a palanquin inside a bus, which forced the police to exercise restraint while dealing with the mob.Tension escalated in the border town of Ajnala as hundreds of supporters, many brandishing traditional weapons, gathered at the spot. Despite heavy police deployment, a large number of Amritpal’s followers from different parts of Punjab managed to converge at the police station and participate in the procession that started from Amritpal’s native village.The protest was triggered by an FIR registered against Amritpal Singh and his supporters for allegedly kidnapping and thrashing Varinder Singh, a resident of Chamkaur Sahib in Rupnagar district. Amritpal had termed the case “false” and announced a protest at the Ajnala police station demanding the release of Lovepreet Singh Toofan, who had been arrested and later sent to judicial custody.Amritpal and his supporters laid a virtual siege to the police station, forcing the police to eventually release Lovepreet Singh.Although the Ajnala police registered an FIR on February 24, 2023, in connection with the violence, no immediate action was taken against the main accused. After several days, the police launched a manhunt to nab Amritpal and his associates. After two months, Amritpal was arrested from Rode village in Moga. Following his arrest, the Punjab Government invoked stringent provisions of the NSA and he was shifted to Dibrugarh Jail in Assam. The detention period was later extended in 2024 and then in 2025.Charges were framed against more than two dozen people, including Amritpal Singh, under various sections of the IPC for attempt to murder, assault on a public servant, obstructing a public servant in discharge of duties, criminal intimidation, causing hurt to a public servant, criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly, and causing disappearance of evidence, besides provisions of the Arms Act.