KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
03-Jul-2025
Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal on July 3 stated that he had received death threats via email, allegedly from foreign-based Khalistani terrorists Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, chief of the banned terror outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), and wanted terrorist Harvinder Singh Rinda, with a reference to Arsh Dalla. The threat email was also CC’d to multiple Indian and international media outlets.
03-Jul-2025
The Vice-Chairman of the Jharkhand State Minority Commission, Jyoti Singh Matharu, assured swift action in disbursing long-pending compensation and pensions to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Bokaro, Jharkhand. The Commission has also directed the district administration to ensure educational and rehabilitation support for the affected families.
03-Jul-2025
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, on July 3, released the list of the party’s 97-member working committee, which includes educationists, Sikh affairs experts, and several young leaders. For the first time, 16 senior women leaders have been inducted into the party’s top decision-making body. Additionally, 22 senior leaders, including Baldev Singh Khehra, Tajinder Singh Sanghreri, and Principal Ranjit Singh, have been named as special invitees.
03-Jul-2025
Official sources on July 3 confirmed that all Pakistani accounts on the social media platform X have once again been blocked in India, following a brief period of restored access. The move is part of India’s broader digital and diplomatic response to the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 tourists and was attributed to The Resistance Front, a proxy group of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
03-Jul-2025
The Jalandhar Commissionerate Police on July 3 arrested a drug peddler, identified as Balbir Singh, and seized 5 kg of heroin from his possession in the Dashmesh Nagar area of Jalandhar district.
03-Jul-2025
The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) staff of Punjab Police on July 3 arrested three individuals, identified as Sushil Kumar alias Sujal, Mandeep Singh, and Gagandeep Singh, and seized 2 kg of opium from their possession in the Transport Nagar area of Jalandhar district.
03-Jul-2025
The Jalandhar Commissionerate Police on July 3 arrested an individual, identified as Harjinder Singh, and seized 258 grams of heroin and a country-made pistol from his possession near Maqsudan Road in Jalandhar district.
03-Jul-2025
According to sources, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s fearsome reputation is being misused by local criminals in Bihar to issue fake threats and extort money, despite the gang having no operational presence in the state. In Katihar, district police arrested two youths who posed as Lawrence Bishnoi gang members and demanded INR 10 lakh, using the gangster’s photograph as a display picture to appear credible. In Patna, a former party worker of Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha was found to be behind threatening calls and messages falsely issued in the Bishnoi gang’s name. In another case, an associate of Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, was arrested for fabricating threats in an attempt to help the leader secure enhanced security cover. Senior police officials confirmed that all the threats were fake and driven by personal motives, exploiting the Bishnoi gang’s notoriety, even though the gang has no operational footprint in Bihar.
02-Jul-2025
A young man riding a scooter, identified as Navjot Kumar, was gunned down in broad daylight by three unidentified assailants in Gandwa village of Kapurthala district, Punjab, on July 2. According to police, the murder appears to be a targeted killing linked to ongoing gang rivalry, as the victim was recently released on bail in a murder case.
02-Jul-2025
Police on July 2 detained three unidentified members of the notorious Slingshot Gang, also known as the Bala Gang—an interstate criminal group responsible for over 30 violent robbery attempts across Haryana, Punjab, and the National Capital Region (NCR)—in Panchkula, Haryana. The gang, which comprises seven to eight core members, is also linked to a INR 40 lakh dacoity in Faridabad and several attempted robberies in Panchkula. The first breakthrough came on June 24, when a gang member identified as Sujan was arrested, leading to the subsequent arrest of Vishal alias Baua on June 29.
02-Jul-2025
On July 2, Punjab Police on day 123 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign registered 104 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 156 drug smugglers and seized 7.8 kg of heroin, 3 kg of opium and INR1.43 lakh drug money from their possession, across Punjab. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested reached to 20,206 in 123 days.
02-Jul-2025
According to a report by The Print, Nikhil Gupta, the Indian national accused in a foiled plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States (US), allegedly requested Czech authorities to notify his 'son in Pakistan' of his detention during hearings held on 30 June and 1 July 2023 in Prague, Czech Republic. This statement, recorded in Exhibit 19B of the unsealed court documents, has been strongly disputed by Gupta’s family, who claim it was the result of a mistranslation by a Hindi-speaking interpreter of Pakistani origin. They assert that the reference to a 'son in Pakistan' is not only false but defamatory, maintaining that Gupta has never visited Pakistan and that the claim was a 'deliberate error'.
02-Jul-2025
On July 2, the Counter-Intelligence (CI) unit in Amritsar busted a cross-border narcotics and illegal arms smuggling module with links to Pakistan and arrested three operatives—Sarabjit Singh, Kulwinder Singh, and Ashmandeep Singh and seized 1 kg of heroin, INR 2.9 lakh in drug money, three 9mm Glock pistols, three .30-bore Chinese pistols, two .30-bore PX-5 pistols, a currency counting machine, and a motorcycle from their possession near Tarn Taran in Tarn Taran district. Police officials revealed that the trio was operating under the direction of Pakistan-based smuggler Sikandar Noor, who used drones to drop arms and narcotics across the border. The accused were distributing these consignments to gangsters across Punjab to fuel criminal activities.
01-Jul-2025
On July 1 in Chandigarh, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Health Minister Dr. Balbir Singh held a two-hour meeting with representatives of the Forum of Resident Doctors of Punjab, successfully addressing their concerns. Following the meeting, the forum announced the withdrawal of their proposed strike. Senior officials, including Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Alok Shekhar and Principal Secretary (Health) Kumar Rahul, were also present during the discussions, which aimed to strengthen collaboration between the government and the medical fraternity.
01-Jul-2025
On July 1, 57-year-old Lakhwinder Singh, who was injured by missile debris during a Pakistani aerial strike in May, died after 54 days on ventilator support in Ludhiana district, Punjab. A resident of Khai Pheme Ke village in Ferozepur, Singh had sustained critical injuries on May 9 when debris from the Pakistani missile strike set his house and car on fire. His wife, Sukhwinder Kaur (50), succumbed to her injuries on May 13. Their son, Jaswinder Singh, who also suffered burns in the incident, was treated and later discharged.
01-Jul-2025
Punjab Special Director General of Police (Special DGP) Law and Order Arpit Shukla on July 1 revealed that Punjab’s anti-drug campaign “Yudh Nashian Virudh” completed four months where Punjab Police registered 12,135 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 19,880 drug smugglers and seized 786 kg of heroin, 301 kg of opium, 158 quintals of poppy husk, 11 kg of charas, 300 kg of ganja, 2.9 kg of ICE, 27.99 lakh intoxicant pills/tablets, and INR 11.58 crore drug money, accross Punjab.
01-Jul-2025
On July 1, Punjab Police, on day 122 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 92 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 128 drug smugglers and seized 4.1 kg of heroin, 3.5 kg of opium, 10 kg of poppy husk, 13667 intoxicant pills and INR 1.25 lakh drug money from their possession, across Punjab.
01-Jul-2025
Police on July 1 arrested one individual, identified as Manpreet Singh alias Manna and seized 304 grams of heroin from his possession, near Gurthali pull near Doraha in Ludhiana district.
30-Jun-2025
According to a report by The Wire, newly released defence documents revealed new details about the arrest and initial interrogation of Indian businessman Nikhil Gupta on June 30, 2023, at Prague airport in Czech Republic. The documents show that Gupta was detained in a covert joint operation between Czech authorities and the United States (US) Department of Justice (DOJ), following a sealed indictment issued by a federal court in the Southern District of New York, in the US. He was interrogated inside a police van, strip-searched, and asked to unlock his phones without being properly informed of his legal rights.
30-Jun-2025
On June 30, the X (formerly Twitter) handle of prominent Indo-Canadian journalist Sameer Kaushal was restored, 72 hours after its suspension. The suspension followed Kaushal’s posting of an interview with former Khalistani extremist Jaspal Atwal, in which Atwal alleged that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) maintains multiple covert agents in Canada who collaborate with anti-India separatist elements.
30-Jun-2025
The Border Security Force (BSF) on June 30 recovered a packet of heroin weighing 460 grams from fields near Chak Bazida village in Fazilka district.
30-Jun-2025
Punjab Police on June 30 busted a major drug racket and arrested Sukhjeet Singh alias Sukha and seized 100 grams of heroin along with three illegal pistols and 6 live cartridges from his possession, in Jalandhar in Jalandhar district. The operation, part of an ongoing anti-narcotics drive, brought the total seizure to 13.1 kg of heroin, five illegal pistols, 12 bullets, three magazines, three luxury vehicles, and INR 22,000 in drug money. Earlier arrests included Shivam Sodhi alias Shiva and Barinder Singh alias Babbu, who were held on May 20 and May 22, respectively.
30-Jun-2025
According to Border Security Force (BSF) sources, over 130 drones were recovered along the International Border (IB) with Pakistan in Punjab between January 1 and June 30, 2025. During the same period, the BSF also seized approximately 135 kg of narcotics, including heroin, and 79 weapons of various types. The Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Ferozepur regions remain major hotspots for drone-based smuggling, with China-made Mavic series drones frequently used to drop drug consignments from across the border.
30-Jun-2025
On June 30, Punjab Police, on day 121 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 56 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 83 drug smugglers and seized 65.4 kg of heroin, 1.2 kg of opium and INR 1.04 lakh drug money from their possession, across Punjab.
30-Jun-2025
On June 30, Australia-based associate of the Lucky Patial–Davinder Bambiha gang, Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal, who was earlier linked to the murder of gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria’s mother Harjit Kaur and cousin Karanvir Singh through a viral social media post, denied any involvement in the killings. Speaking to freelance journalists on YouTube, Dhaliwal claimed that the post circulating in his name was fake and that he had no role in the incident.