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Thursday, 12 April, 2001, 10:36 GMT 11:36 UK
Top Sikh separatist held

Mr Zaffarwal was picked up near an Amritsar hotel
By Asit Jolly in Amritsar

A top-ranking Sikh separatist leader has been arrested in Amritsar, in the north Indian state of Punjab.

Wassan Singh Zaffarwal was picked up by police at a hotel near Amritsar's main bus terminal on Wednesday.

He was the chief of the outlawed Khalistan Commando Force and a senior member of the Panthic Committee, which orchestrated the armed separatist movement in Punjab in the 1980s and the early 1990s.

It is not yet known whether any of his associates have also been also arrested.

According to newspaper reports, Mr Zaffarwal had been trying to broker a surrender deal for some months now.

Return

Police say that after living for years in Pakistan, he moved to Switzerland some years ago.

Map
He is believed to have returned to Punjab after receiving assurances from a senior cabinet minister in the state government.

It has even been suggested in the press that the Punjab chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, has been aware of Mr Zaffarwal's presence in Punjab.

It has been reported that Mr Zaffarwal was planning to formally surrender to the authorities, possibly to avoid attempts on his life.

This was inadvertently foiled after he was spotted in Chandigarh at the wedding reception of a local Akali Dal party leader's son.

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