Amritsar: Indian authorities extended a mobile internet blackout across a state of about 30 million people on Monday as police hunted a Sikh preacher.

The blackout extension came as supporters of Amritpal Singh were filmed vandalising India’s consulate in San Francisco, not long after similar disturbances in London. Authorities in the northern state of Punjab launched a major search on Saturday for Singh, who has risen to prominence in recent months demanding the creation of Khalistan, a separate Sikh homeland.

Police said on Monday they had arrested 114 people so far but Singh’s whereabouts were unknown. The internet outage, originally in place until noon (0630 GMT) on Monday, was extended for another 24 hours. Videos posted online, and independently verified by AFP, showed men smashing doors and windows of the Indian Consulate in San Francisco after they broke down barricades set up outside the building.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 21 2023

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