The arrest was confirmed by police in Punjab. Singh had bee on the run for five weeks after escaping a major operation and splitting up from his close associate Pappalpreet Singh who was arrested.

Amritpal Singh is arrested under powers in the National Security Act, 1980, which replaced but is functionally similar, in many respects, to the National Security Act left behind at Independence, a type of law that the British left in a number of colonies and territories.

The current version of the law allows for him to be detained without charge for up to a year.

India is anxious to prevent a recurrence of the separatist protests in Punjab in the 1980s. In 1986, a group of prominent Sikhs declared an independent state known as Khalistan. Clashed with Indian security forces led to deaths reported as being "in the thousands". The Indian government accused Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale of instigating the movement and he was killed when the Indian army stormed The Golden Temple, Sikhism's most holy place. But that was in 1984, before the declaration of an independent state.

Amritpal Singh says he is a follower of Bhindranwale.

After the arrests last month, violent protests took place around the world, including Canada, Australia, the UK and the USA. Amritpal Singh has inflamed international passions by denouncing the Indian government's actions as "an attack on the Sikh Community."

He is a long-time user of social media where he has built up a large global following for his message of Sikh unity.