As Amritpal Singh drove towards a village in India's northern state of Punjab on Saturday afternoon, police started surrounding his car.
The self-proclaimed preacher, who has been leading calls for a separate Sikh state called Khalistan, was on his way to speak at a gathering.
One of his supporters went live on social media as police began their pursuit, and the car chase started going viral.
Videos showed Mr Singh being stopped and followed by what his associate claims were 100 police cars, but he managed to swap vehicles.
One by one, supporters started releasing similar videos, saying they were being cornered by police, including one man in an open field.
Mr Singh switched between five more cars and changed clothes to conceal himself from police.
Some videos called for Mr Singh's supporters to gather in one part of the state to protest against the manhunt.
Then, authorities cut the internet across the state of Punjab to shut down communications.
Police started arresting members of Mr Singh's group and charging them under one of India's harshest laws, the National Security Act.
By the evening, after an hours-long police chase, Mr Singh was seen speeding away on a motorbike.
No-one has seen him since.
How did Amritpal Singh evade so many police?
Mr Singh leads a group called Waris Punjab De, "the heirs of Punjab", and has held thousands-strong marches around the country to rally support for his vision.
Researchers say he has been using the Indian government's Hindu nationalist identity to galvanise support for Sikh sovereignty.
Last month, Mr Singh and some of his followers stormed a police station with swords and guns in Punjab's capital, Amritsar, protesting against the arrest of a member of their group. They eventually forced their way in.
It has been almost a week since Mr Singh was last seen, and police have arrested more than 100 of his supporters, but they still have not found their main target.
In their pursuit, Punjab police have released seven different photos of Mr Singh, including one from 2021 that shows him without a turban.
But authorities in the state are now copping the blame.
"You have 80,000 cops. What were they doing? How did Amritpal Singh escape?" Punjab's High Court bench asked its government on Tuesday.
"If he escaped, this is an intelligence failure. The entire police force is after him."
The comments were made during a case put forward by Mr Singh's lawyer, accusing Punjab police of illegally attempting to detain him without reason.
"This is a difficult time in Punjab," Imaan Singh Khara told the ABC.
"The fundamental rights and freedoms of speech and expression have been restricted.
"I have filed … this case because we have no knowledge about the whereabouts of Amritpal Singh.
"His human rights could be violated, and he could be killed by the police in an encounter."
Why 'the heirs of Punjab' movement stokes memories of a dark past
Mr Singh was unknown until 2022, when he was appointed as head of Waris Punjab De and moved back home to Punjab after working in Dubai for his family business.
The 30-year-old claims to be inspired by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was a leading figure of the Khalistan movement several decades ago.
In 1984, after Bhindranwale and his group took over the Golden Temple in Punjab — the most sacred site in Sikhism — then-prime minister Indira Gandhi ordered the military to remove them in a sting known as Operation Blue Star.
Bhindranwale was killed in the operation, along with around 400 other people, including more than 80 soldiers.
Operation Blue Star outraged Sikhs around the world.
Four months later, Gandhi was assassinated by two of her personal security guards, both Sikhs, in revenge for the military operation.
Anti-Sikh riots broke out following the assassination and almost 3,000 people died, mostly in the capital, Delhi.
Mr Singh has recently threatened India's powerful home minister Amit Shah, saying he would "meet the same fate" as the slain prime minister.
For many, the manhunt for the modern preacher and rising tensions surrounding his movement are a reminder of a dark past, says Professor Kuldip Singh, who specialises in religious movements in Punjab.
While members of Waris Punjab De say they are galvanising mass support, others argue the group is still fringe and doesn't have the same prominence it did in previous decades.
"If a person like Amritpal Singh suddenly talks of Khalistan, people are very, very flattened and people have bad memories of the past," Professor Singh says.
"There's a very small minority who may be supportive of Amritpal Singh, but it doesn't have a mass appeal. That's the reason why the government of Punjab thought of taking this kind of action against him."
Pro-Khalistan movement overseas rallying in support of Singh
India's government has expressed deep concerned about the pro-Khalistan movement, not only in Punjab but also among Sikh diaspora living in allied countries including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
When the two prime ministers met during a high-profile visit to India earlier this month, Narendra Modi urged Anthony Albanese to protect Hindu temples after several were vandalised during the international Khalistan campaign.
Mr Albanese said he assured Mr Modi that Australia does not tolerate "extreme actions", saying police and security agencies would make sure to crack down on those responsible for the attacks.
While things have remained peaceful this week in Punjab, with no reports of major protests or violence in the community, there have been strong reactions from pro-Khalistan members abroad.
Protests have been held in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand in support of Mr Singh.
This week, pro-Khalistan supporters demonstrated outside federal parliament house in Canberra, with signs reading "stop killing Sikhs" and "let's stand against injustice".
When asked about the protests, an Australian Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman told the ABC that "peaceful expression of different views is an important part of Australian society".
"The Australian Government respects the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest and supports the non-violent expression of views," he said.
"As the Foreign Minister has said, 'The Indian diaspora are valued and important contributors to our vibrant and resilient multicultural society'."
The international pro-Khalistan movement, led by a US group called Sikhs for Justice, has also been holding non-binding referendums to gauge sentiment about moves for a separate Sikh state among the diaspora.
One of those referendums took place in Brisbane on Sunday.
On Monday, Victorian police released images of six men believed to be involved in a brawl in January between supporters of the Indian government and pro-Khalistan members, after a similar referendum held in Melbourne.
According to the police statement, men involved in the fight used flag poles as weapons, injuring several people.
It was not clear from the police statement whether the men using the flag poles were from the pro-Khalistan group or the pro-government group. Two men were arrested.
Pro-Khalistan supporters also demonstrated outside the Indian High Commission in London this week, breaking windows and climbing onto one of the balconies over the weekend to detach the Indian flag that usually hangs there.
It prompted the Modi government to summon a senior British diplomat to explain "the complete absence of British security".
Britain's foreign minister James Cleverly responded by saying his government would review security at the Indian High Commission after "unacceptable acts of violence" towards its staff, in a clear attempt to maintain relations between the two countries.
At another demonstration on Wednesday, there was a heavy police presence, with barriers erected at the roadside and dozens of officers deployed.
