KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
12-Apr-2023
Police on April 12 arrested four drug smugglers, identified as Manpreet Singh, Jaspal singh alias Gopi, Sukhdev Singh and Dyalvinder Singh and recovered 35 packets of heroin, weighing 36.9 kg from their possession near Lalo Wali village in Fazilka district.
11-Apr-2023
A senior police officer confirmed that they had detained Hardeep Singh alias Deepa, of Dhurkot Charat Singh Wala village on April 11 and sent him to Ludhiana in the custody of the Counter Intelligence wing. He was arrested in the Amritpal case.
11-Apr-2023
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on April 11 referred Waris Punjab De (WPD) Chief Amritpal Singh as innocent. Bhagwant Singh Sialka, an Executive Member of the SGPC and a prominent lawyer stated that Amritpal Singh and his associates are against the Punjab Government, not against the people. He advised the Punjab Police to cease their actions and pledged to offer legal support to Amritpal Singh and his accomplices.
11-Apr-2023
According to reports, former journalist Papalpreet Singh had been operating his own media channel and was serving as media advisor to Waris Punjab De (WPD) chief Amritpal Singh. In 2007, after the imposition of the death penalty on Jagtar Singh Hawara and Balwant Singh Rajoana, who were convicted of assassinating former Chief Minister Beant Singh, Papalpreet reportedly advocated for the formation of an independent Sikh state. He was also affiliated with the Sikh Youth Front and Sikh Youth Federation (Bhindranwale). Papalpreet gained notoriety during the controversial 2015 Sarbat Khalsa, where he read out a message from imprisoned separatist Narain Singh Chaura, who purportedly had ties to the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), an organization associated with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
11-Apr-2023
On April 11, Papalpreet Singh, a close aide of fugitive Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh, was shifted to the Dibrugarh Central Prison in Assam after being arrested by Punjab police on April 10 in the Kathu Nangal area of Amritsar. Papalpreet was booked under the National Security Act (NSA) and, according to the police, was wanted in six other cases.
11-Apr-2023
The Punjab government on April 11 informed the High Court (HC) that Daljit Singh Kalsi, who has been detained under the National Security Act (NSA), was assisting Waris Punjab De (WPD) chief Amritpal Singh in spreading radical ideology and inciting violence against the state to establish a separate Khalistan. The government also clarified that any allegations to the contrary are false and misleading.
10-Apr-2023
Gurpatwan Singh Pannun, the head of the banned pro-Khalistan group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), on April 10, announced a reward of INR 100,000 for anyone who would throw a shoe at Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi during his visit to Assam on April 14 for the Bihu celebrations. Pannun sent a pre-recorded message to various journalists in Assam, in which he accused PM Modi of being accountable for the deaths of individuals in Assam and pro-Khalistan Sikhs in Punjab.
10-Apr-2023
Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in a video message, claimed that pro-'Khalistan' sympathizers raised 'Khalistan' flag at Mata Sahib Kaur College, Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda and wrote a slogan that on 324th Khalsa Sajna Day (Baisakhi) as 'Punjab Hal Khalistan'. Pannun also expressed gratitude towards the girls from the college who participated in raising the flag and writing the slogans.
10-Apr-2023
Police on April 10 arrested four associates of Canada-based gangster Devinder Pal Singh alias Gopi, identified as Prajvil Sethi alias Shiv, Deepak Kumar alias Monu, Gurdarshan Singh and Akashdeep Singh Dhaliwal alias Gagan in Moga city in Moga District. Police also recovered two pistols and two motorcycles from the accused who were planning to extort money by issuing threats to a local businessman.
10-Apr-2023
Former Punjab Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia on April 10 stated that he had recently received at least eight threat calls and had notified the Punjab Director General of Police (DGP).
10-Apr-2023
The Border Security Force (BSF) on April 10 recovered around 1.6 kg of narcotics wrapped in three packets near Gandhu Kilcha village along the International Border (IB) in the Ferozepur District.
10-Apr-2023
According to a study by Network Contagion Research Institute, some Khalistan supporters are using automated Twitter accounts to encourage violence and promote acts of vandalism around the world amid rising hostilities between the Indian government and followers of the Sikh religion. The report reveals that these individuals are employing elusive strategies such as deleting tweets afterward and sidestepping suspensions by praising the placement of a "device" rather than a bomb and urging for the "political assassination" of Indian officials. Furthermore, a number of Khalistani supporters are using interconnected networks of accounts to simultaneously disseminate videos and calls to action, outrunning Twitter's limited safety personnel.
10-Apr-2023
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on April 10 announced that the Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) had been served a legal notice for supposedly associating the flags and map of the Sikh kingdom led by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Sikh princely states with the separatist cause of Khalistan. According to the SGPC, the Khanna SSP has been accused of presenting these flags and map, which were found on the phone of aides of fugitive Waris Punjab De (WPD) chief Amritpal Singh, as evidence of separatist activities.
10-Apr-2023
Punjab Police on April 10 arrested a key member of Waris Punjab De (WPD), Papalpreet Singh from Kathunangal village in Amritsar district. Inspector General (IG) Sukhchain Singh Gill stated that Papalpreet Singh was arrested after multiple police teams carried out a special operation with assistance from the counter-intelligence wing. IG Gill further added that the search operation to locate Papalpreet Singh had been ongoing for three days, initiated by the critical information received regarding his whereabouts.
10-Apr-2023
The Indian government denied the reports in the media claiming that India has suspended trade talks with the United Kingdom (UK) following an attack on the Indian high commission by pro-Khalistani extremists. In a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), it said, "We have seen the report claiming India has halted its trade deal with the UK. It is completely baseless."
09-Apr-2023
The Punjab Government on April 9 transferred Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) (Jails) B Chandra Shekhar just days after ordering an investigation into gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's jailhouse interviews.
09-Apr-2023
Police arrested two smugglers, identified as Daljit Singh alias Gudu and Binder Singh and recovered 350 kg of poppy husk kept in 21 bags from their possession at Madhopur Chowk, Fatehgarh Sahib district on April 9.
09-Apr-2023
Following the release of a video where fugitive pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh called for a "Sarbat Khalsa" (a congregation of the Sikh faithful) on Baisakhi, security measures in Bathinda have been strengthened. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Surinder Pal Singh Parmar stated, “We have made elaborate security arrangements. We are here for the convenience of people. We want more and more people to visit the state on Baisakhi. It will send out a positive message that the situation is normal in Punjab. No restrictions have been imposed.”
09-Apr-2023
A delegation of lawyers, sent by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), has reached Dibrugarh in Assam to take up the cases of the young people jailed there after being arrested in Punjab. The SGPC has assigned the task of providing legal assistance to the group of lawyers, which comprises SGPC member and advocate Bhagwant Singh Sialka, advocate Mandeep Singh Sidhu, who is the brother of Sandeep (Deep) Singh Sidhu, and lawyer Rohit Sharma.
09-Apr-2023
Punjab Police on April 9 arrested an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) identified as Jaswinder Singh Pangli in connection with an investigation into the escape of fugitive Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh from the Hoshiarpur district. The police also confiscated significant pieces of evidence against him.
08-Apr-2023
The Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) on April 8 emphasized that the drug problem in Punjab has reached a “dangerous height” and cannot be taken lightly. Justice Vivek Puri reiterated that drug-related offenses must be diligently investigated.
08-Apr-2023
A Nihang Sikh, part of the ongoing Quami Insaaf Morcha near YPS Chowk in Mohali, was severely injured after he was attacked by fellow Nihangs with swords following an altercation, near a park in Sector 52, near Mohali in SAS Nagar district on April 8 night. Police have arrested a Nihang Sikh identified as Nihang Mela Singh and booked eight others for attempt-to-murder, rioting, unlawful assembly and criminal conspiracy.
08-Apr-2023
On the anniversary of Jugraj Singh Toofan's death, Sikh radicals paid their respects to the Sikh militant.
07-Apr-2023
In a video message, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun claimed that Pro-Khalistani Sikhs wrote 'Khalistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad' slogans at Air Force Station, Sirsa, Haryana to tell the G20 countries to highlight "Khalistan movement".
07-Apr-2023
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on April 7 stated that the Sikh community does not desire any conflict with the government but would prefer to engage in discussions to address specific concerns. He mentioned that the community aims for a peaceful resolution to all issues. He questioned why the government could engage in dialogues with the Nagas and Kashmiris but not with the Sikhs. He also pointed out that the Sikhs have been promised several commitments over the past 75 years, none of which have been fulfilled. He emphasized that if their voice is stifled, they will speak out from various places, including Haryana, Bengal, and the United States (US), and that no one can suppress their voice.