KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
14-Jul-2020
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided the residence of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) militant Paramjit Singh Pamma and interrogated his parents at Phase 3B2 in Mohali in SAS Nagar district. According to sources, Pamma, who is currently working in close association with Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has been abroad for a long time. The NIA team searched the entire house and also seized the passbooks of bank accounts in which Pamma was depositing money. They also inquired about Pamma’s remittances and other foreign funds and noted the details of the fixed deposit (FD) accounts of the elderly couple. Pamma’s parents, Amrik Singh and Ratan Kaur, said the search went on from around 10.30 am till 4 pm.
14-Jul-2020
Haryana Police in Ambala registered a case against an unknown person for issuing a death threat to Anti-Terrorist Front India president Viresh Shandilya. According to police, the FIR was registered on the complaint of Shandilya, who alleged that he received a death threat over the phone. In his complaint, Shandilya said he had received a phone call on Sunday (July 12) night with the caller threatened him for speaking against pro-Khalistan sympathisers. Shandilya alleged that the caller said he will be eliminated like former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated way back in 1995.
13-Jul-2020
Punjab Police busted a Pakistan-sponsored drugs and illegal arms smuggling racket, by arresting four persons including the kingpin, a Border Security Force (BSF) constable posted in Kashmir. Arrested persons were identified as constable Sumit Kumar, Simarjit Singh, Manpreet Singh and Amanpreet Singh and police recovered foreign-made weapons, 80 live cartridges etched with Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) markings and various other weapons along with Rs 32.30 lakh drug money from them. During the preliminary interrogation, the accused have confessed to being in touch with Pakistani terrorist Shah Musa who sponsored the module.
13-Jul-2020
Police arrested an absconding drug peddler, identified as Gurbejh Singh along with 1 kg heroin and Rs 46, 000 drug money in Sultanpur Lodhi town of Kapurthala district. The accused was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) by a court in two cases of drug peddling registered against him.
13-Jul-2020
Jaspreet Singh (18), who was booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the Punjab Police recently, returned after 16 days in custody late on July 13 night. This after Punjab Police told a Patiala court that they have found no evidence against the youth during investigation. Earlier he was arrested on June 30 along with two others as suspected to be part of a Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF) module.
12-Jul-2020
Police arrested two drug peddlers, identified as Rinkal Kumar and Krishna Kumar after recovering 47 kg of ganja from their possession on Ludhiana-Delhi highway in Ludhiana district.
12-Jul-2020
Haryana Police registered a second FIR against the leader of the banned pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on charges of sedition and secessionism. The FIR was registered at Kurukshetra on the complaint of a state police official. The complainant has alleged that Pannun has been blaming the Haryana government and its people for being inimical to the interests of Sikhs and Punjabis. Haryana police spokesperson said that they have got all websites allegedly created by Pannun and launched in the past one week blocked.
12-Jul-2020
Police arrested two drug peddlers, identified as Varinder Singh and Rajinder Singh and recovered 50 gm heroin from them at Beas in Amritsar district.
12-Jul-2020
Anti-Terrorist Front India president Viresh Shandilya on July 12, 2020, received death threat over the phone. Shandilya received a phone call in the night with the caller threatened him for speaking against pro-Khalistan sympathisers. Shandilya alleged that the caller said he will be eliminated like former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated way back in 1995. He said, ““I have been speaking against pro-Khalistani elements. I have been raising my voice against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the banned pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice and the secessionist campaign he has started from the foreign soil.”
11-Jul-2020
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in an audio message claimed to organise an event related to the secessionist movement ‘Referendum 2020’ at Gurudwara Patshahi Chhevin in Kurukshetra in Haryana on July 11. It prompted Kurukshetra Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dhirendra Khadgata and Superintendent of Police (SP) Astha Modi to contact the management of the Shiromani Gurdwara Management Committee (SGPC)-run Gurudwara. Later, Gurudwara Patshahi Chhevin manager Amrinder Singh said that “Gurdwara Patshahi Chhevin in Kurukshetra is managed by SGPC. We have no link with SFJ. After consulting with higher officials of SGPC, we released a video message refuting the claims made in the audio message.” DC Khadgata said that, “These audio messages are being circulated with a motive to spread hatred.”
11-Jul-2020
Jalandhar Police (Rural) arrested one person, identified as Pawan Kumar and recovered 500 grams of heroin at a check point near Shahkot in Jalandhar district.
11-Jul-2020
Police arrested a woman, identified as Saroj Rani and recovered 25 kg puppy husk from her at a check point near village Atti near Goraya in Jalandhar district.
11-Jul-2020
Police arrested two drug smugglers, identified as Kuldip Singh and Ranjit Singh and recovered 130 intoxicant tablets and eight bottles of intoxicant syrups from them in Jalandhar district.
11-Jul-2020
The Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) dismissed the bail plea of an accused in the 2019 Tarn Taran blast. The accused, Malkiat Singh, had sought bail on health grounds, stating that he was suffering from various ailments for the last few years. However, dismissing the plea, the HC observed the trial court order establishes that the appellant was in constant touch with the co-accused and was an active member of the pro-Khalistan terrorist group and further, he collected the bomb from his co-accused and kept it in his possession.
10-Jul-2020
The monthly magazine of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has stated in its recent editorial that the increase in suppression of Sikhs in the country will lead to intensification of demand for independent territory among them. Written by its editor Satwinder Singh Phoolpur, the editorial appeared in the July 2020 edition of the magazine titled Gurmat Parkash. It raises the issue of confiscation of farmland of scores of Sikh farmers living in Uttar Pardesh by Yogi Adityanath-led state government.
10-Jul-2020
The monthly magazine of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has stated in its recent editorial that the increase in suppression of Sikhs in the country will lead to intensification of demand for independent territory among them. Written by its editor Satwinder Singh Phoolpur, the editorial appeared in the July 2020 edition of the magazine titled Gurmat Parkash. It raises the issue of confiscation of farmland of scores of Sikh farmers living in Uttar Pardesh by Yogi Adityanath-led state government.
09-Jul-2020
Punjab Police questioned Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member Karnail Singh Panjoli for his Facebook post related to Sikh For Justice (SFJ). He said that “I had written nothing wrong in the post. I had objected to the Indian government declaring Gurpatwant Singh Pannun a terrorist. He hasn’t committed any terror activity. If he wants to hold Referendum peacefully then he should be allowed because it would clear his doubts about Punjab and Sikhs.” He also added that “Sikhs will not accept anyone like Pannun — who is clean-shaven and doesn’t even wear turban — as their leader. But he can’t be declared terrorist for using democratic means to pursue his agenda. It would have worked better if the government of India hadn’t taken notice of Pannu because then very few people would know of him.”
09-Jul-2020
The Khalsa League constituted a panel of lawyers to look after the legal proceedings of the cases of recently arrested Sikh youths by the Punjab police. Khalsa League’s head Amrik Singh Ballowal said that a panel of lawyers has been constituted under the leadership of Advocate Abhishek Gill. “This panel will follow up the legal proceedings of all the Sikh youths arrested by the Punjab police using provisions of draconian laws like UAPA,” he added.
09-Jul-2020
Controversial Hindu leader Sudhir Suri was booked by the rural police for allegedly hurting the sentiments of Sikh community. Complainant Balbir Singh Muchhal, a resident of Muchhal village, stated to the police that Suri along with Hardeep Sharma had used derogatory remarks against people belonging to the Sikh community.
08-Jul-2020
The Special Task Force (STF) arrested two sisters, identified as Kiran and Suman along with 1.2 kilograms of heroin in Ludhiana in Ludhiana district. A preliminary investigation revealed that both of their husbands are currently lodged in a jail for offenses committed under narcotics act.
07-Jul-2020
The Punjab and Haryana High Court High Court dismissed the bail plea of an accused, identified as Makit Singh alias Sher Singh alias Shera in the Tarn Taran blast case in which two persons died last year. The case was probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which found that Shera was “in contact” with other accused persons; was an active member of a pro Khalistan group and conspired with the co-accused to carry out the terror attack.
07-Jul-2020
Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh said that Sikhs were being harassed for minor offences such as sharing posts on social media while the ones who were accused of bomb blasts have reached parliament. He said, “It seems that the Sikhs are being eliminated from India gradually just like what was done to the followers of Buddhism. For the last few days, Sikh youths have been tortured and harassed mentally in police stations. When asked about the reason behind, the cops said their mobile phones are being examined. They say these persons have shared posts on the social media.”
07-Jul-2020
Pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the organisation continues to reach out to Indians, particularly opinion-makers like journalists and lawyers, with pre-recorded, international calls to push its secessionist agenda and propagate its notorious Sikh Referendum 2020 campaign. Many journalists in Delhi have lately been receiving pesky calls originating mostly from numbers in the US, seeking their support for SFJ's Khalistan cause and Referendum 2020, under which popular vote is being solicited in support of Punjab’s secession from India. The messages that are played out every time you accept the international call - that may show Michigan or Georgia or any other location in the US as the point of origin of the call - contain anti-India statements and invoke radical Sikh feelings to push their 'Khalistan' agenda.
07-Jul-2020
More than a year after upping the ante against the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa is set to announce a new political outfit. According to sources, the party is likely to be named ‘Shiromani Panthik Dal’.
06-Jul-2020
Security Forces recovered 7.14 kg heroin worth Rs 35 crore near BOP Dona Telu Mall in Ferozepur sector in Ferozepur district. A pistol, two magazines, 10 live rounds and two Pakistani SIM cards were also seized from the fields of accused, identified Bittu, who allegedly has links with the Pakistan-based smugglers. However, he was not arrested.