KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
06-Jul-2020
The district anti-narcotic cell arrested three persons, Amrik Singh, his wife Harpal Kaur, and Sarbjit Singh and seized 1.4 kg of heroin from them at Joliyan village in Sangrur district.
06-Jul-2020
Political parties in Punjab demanded stern action of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). Sunil Jakhar, president, PPCC, said, “Intelligence reports had indicated that the SFJ was backed by Pakistan-based ISI. He said terrorism has to be fought jointly.” SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said, “Referendum 2020 was just a drama by those who hate India.” Ashwani Kumar, president of the BJP’s state unit, said, “Pannu is irrelevant not only in Punjab, but also in Canada”. Leader of Opposition Harpal Cheema said, “The state government failed to curb the SFJ’s activity. The government should have approached the TRAI and got the calls blocked that urged people to respond.”
05-Jul-2020
The Government of India blocked 40 websites of pro-Khalistan group, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) and foiled its campaign of registering supporters for its cause. The websites were blocked on the recommendation of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA). "Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), an unlawful organisation under the UAPA,1967, launched a campaign for registering supporters for its cause. On recommendation of MHA, MEITY has issued orders under Sec. 69 A of the I.T. Act, 2000, for blocking 40 websites of SFJ," a UMHA spokesperson said. The SFJ was registering supporters for 'Referendum 2020' to demand Khalistan, which seeks a separate homeland for the Sikhs. It had launched its voter registration in Punjab through a Russian portal. The SFJ chose July 4 to launch the campaign in memory of Sikhs killed during the 1955 attack at Darbar Sahib.
05-Jul-2020
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed against Twitter India Pvt. Ltd. and others by petitioner, Gopal Jhaveri before the Bombay High Court with the prayer to direct the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take action against Twitter under various penal provisions of the law. According to the petition, Twitter accepted blood money to promote Khalistan supporting tweets and is still promoting it knowingly. It is a well-known fact that the Khalistan is a banned terror organisation even though they have blindly supported terror organisations to promote anti national agenda and therefore the authorized representative and all the persons involved in this activity shall be punished by Indian judiciary to set an example to those who are still having a goal to divide India and actively supporting banned terror organisations. The Chief Justice of Bombay High Court in his order dated June 5 directed Twitter and their advocate to file their reply within three weeks, the reply is still pending.
05-Jul-2020
Bholath MLA and former Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira came out in support of Joginder Singh Gujjar alias Goga, days after he was booked and arrested by the Punjab Police on charges of sedition and waging war against India. In a letter to Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh, Khaira said, “The truth is that this man living in Italy for the past 18 years is 65 years of age, illiterate and a heart patient with no criminal record throughout his life. The village panchayat, elders and his family have approached me for justice and have vehemently vouched for his innocence”. Earlier Punjab Police on July 2 had booked Gujjar, whom it said is a prominent and active member of the banned Sikh for Justice (SFJ) in a case under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
05-Jul-2020
According to dossier prepared by Indian Security agencies, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have turned several chiefs of Khalistani terror groups into drug smugglers and Germany is being developed as a base for Khalistan operations by ISI. ISI is using Khalistani terrorists to smuggle narcotics and provide funds to various terror groups for anti-India activities. The dossier reveals that ISI sinister plan to use pro-Khalistani elements based in Pakistan, Germany, UK, Canada and US for promoting terror and terror ideology by luring the youth and spreading hatred against India.
04-Jul-2020
Heavy security arrangements were made around the Golden Temple in Amritsar due to apprehension of pro-Khalistani group, Sikh For Justice (SFJ) trying to start their voters’ registration for its Khalistani ‘Referendum 2020’ campaign. Police vehicles in large numbers and policemen in plain clothes were seen in the Golden Plaza, from where they kept a watch to foil any anti-national activity. Security sources said that the arrangements were made in view of possibility of some disillusioned SFJ supporters gathering and creating ruckus or making an attempt to begin the voter registration process to attract media attention.
04-Jul-2020
Sikh For Justice (SFJ) launched its ‘referendum’ voter registration in Punjab through a Russian portal. It appealed to the people in Punjab aged 18 or above from any religion, as well as Sikhs living anywhere else in India to register their votes. Detailed information regarding the registration process was put up in English and Punjabi languages on the Russia-based website - www.punjabfree.ru, which mentions three steps for registration of votes and the sign-up to receive updates about the ‘Referendum 2020’. Meanwhile, the Indian government has since been in touch with the authorities concerned as to how the SFJ used Russian cyberspace to launch the voter registration for Referendum 2020.
04-Jul-2020
The Dal Khalsa and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) condemned the Indian Government’s move in branding nine Sikhs associated with Khalistan struggle as terrorists and asked the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) to rectify its error. In a joint press conference in Patiala, Dal Khalsa president HS Cheema and Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar (SAD-Amritsar) general secretary Mohinderpal Singh termed the govt’s move an attempt to paint the image of Sikh Nation worldwide with “terrorism” brush, which is totally unacceptable and intolerable.
04-Jul-2020
Dalit organizations based in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur and other districts in Punjab staged protests against Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun for his anti-Dalit action of burning a copy of the Constitution and insulting Dr BR Ambedkar. The organizations which took part in the protests included the Bharatiya Valmiki Mahasabha, Patiala, Bhawadas Sanstha, Bhim Army, Dalit Bhalai Sangathan and Bharatiya Valmiki Samaj, Sangrur.
04-Jul-2020
No representative of the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) visited Akal Takht to perform the ardas before the beginning of online voter registration for ‘Refrendum-2020’. The Punjab Police have blocked 17 web portals so far which were being used for spreading the “anti-India” campaign of the SFJ.
03-Jul-2020
The legal advisor of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is now making ‘new worded’ recorded calls to people, including journalists in Punjab. In the nearly two-minute voice call made from a US number, Pannun made claims of “dismantling” the Indian system. Ahead of the beginning of the registration process for “Referendum 2020” from July 4, police have strengthened and alerted the intelligence network to look for the remnant support system of SFJ.
03-Jul-2020
As US-based banned outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has declared July 4 as the inaugural day for registration of referendum on Khalistan, Punjab Police stepped up vigil in and around Golden Temple at Amritsar. According to official source, Centre has issued directions to the security agencies to keep a close eye on the Golden Temple premises in the wake of the call given by the SFJ headed by lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is among the nine people declared terrorist by the Union government under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on July 1.
03-Jul-2020
Police recovered 5.66 kg of heroin near the Zero Line in Khemkaran in Tarn Taran district. The Deputy Superintendent of Police (Investigations), Kamaljit Singh Aulakh, said the police personnel acted on a tip-off and confiscated three plastic bottles buried under the soil near the BSF pillar no. 160-161.
03-Jul-2020
The Punjab and Haryana high court asked the states of Punjab, Haryana and the Union government to take necessary action against banned organization Sikh For Justice (SFJ)’s bid to provoke public sentiment. The division bench of chief justice Ravi Shanker Jha and justice Arun Palli passed the order while disposing of a petition filed in public interest seeking directions for taking steps against SFJ. During the hearing, the counsel for Punjab government informed that SFJ was banned by the state in July 2019 only and its legal adviser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was also declared a designated terrorist by the government of India on July 1. The court was also informed that 116 WhatsApp groups relating to the organisation have been blocked and further steps in this regard are being taken. Further, the counsel said, as many as 16 FIRs have been registered against the organisation and further details regarding the steps being taken by the government cannot be shared for security reasons.
03-Jul-2020
Family of Sukhchain Singh (26), a Dalit Sikh, who was recently arrested under the Unlawful Activities [Prevention] Act (UAPA) by the Punjab Police, has demanded an independent probe into the case alleging he was implicated in a false case and kept in illegal custody. The family claimed that police had picked up Sukhchain from his house on June 26 in the presence of sarpanch village but shown his arrest from a bus stop at Kauli village of Rajpura in Patiala. They alleged that police had even wrongly shown recovery of a weapon and cartridges from Sukhchain and kept him in illegal custody for two days before registering a case.
03-Jul-2020
The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) arrested two drug smugglers, identified as Sarabjit Singh and Varun Kumar and recovered 1 kg of heroin and drugs money of Rs 7.20 Lac from them in Phagwara in Kapurthala district.
02-Jul-2020
Punjab Police registered two separate FIRs, in Amritsar and Kapurthala, against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) and his associates, including an active SFJ member, Joginder Singh Gujjar, who reportedly came to India from Italy in February this year. The Dalit Suraksha Sena (DSS) had filed a complaint against Gurpatwant Pannun and his associates, and got a case (FIR 168) registered against him at police station B/Division, Police Commissionerate Amritsar for burning the Indian Constitution and Indian national flag, and instigating others to do so too, which had hurt the sentiments of the entire SC community in the country. The second FIR, registered at PS Bhulath, district Kapurthala, is based on reliable inputs of entry of Joginder Singh Gujjar alias Goga in India in February 2020, a police spokesperson said, adding that Pannun and his associates have been charged with seditious and secessionist activities in the case.
02-Jul-2020
The Gurugram (Haryana) police booked the chief of banned outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on charges of sedition for allegedly indulging in unlawful activity by “openly supporting the secession of Punjab from the Union of India by inciting the Sikhs and in activities aimed at threatening the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of India and inciting ill-will and hatred against people of Haryana.” The Gurugram police also invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against Pannun. In the FIR, the complainant stated that he received information from a “secret source” that a pre-recorded audio-video message had been circulating on social media, in which Pannun, who identified himself as General Counsel of SFJ, allegedly blamed the Government of Haryana and the people of Haryana for “being inimical to the interests of Sikhs and Punjabis.”
02-Jul-2020
Two drug peddlers, identified as Inderpal Singh of Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), and Jaswinder Singh Bajwa of Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand) were arrested along with 1 kg opium from near Alaur village in Khanna in Ludhiana district
02-Jul-2020
A day after he was designated as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Sikh For Justice (SFJ) leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun released a video statement on YouTube, saying that he was not a terrorist. He said in the video that, “Indian government has designated me and many other pro-Khalistan Referendum 2020 activists and campaigners as terrorists. I want to tell the world that we are not terrorists. A terrorist is the one who kills civilians and common people with bombs and guns. It is the Indian government that is unleashing terrorism against Sikhs, Kashmiris, dalits and other minorities.” He said the Indian government is afraid of their “legal activities” which challenge its hegemony and terrorism. “That is why India labels Referendum 2020 campaign as 'terrorism'. We will dismantle the Indian system that has committed the genocide of Sikhs. We will root out that Indian system which attacked the Akal Takht Sahib. We will erase that Indian system which raped our women and made a 'widow colony',” he stated.
01-Jul-2020
Government of India declared nine individuals, including pro-Khalistani leader and the key member of banned outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannun as terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UAPA]. Pannun, who organized the Khalistan 2020 referendum, has been seen actively running a campaign against India and motivating Sikh youngsters in his home state of Punjab to join militancy. The others who have been designated by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) as individual terrorists under the UAPA include Paramjit Singh (Babbar Khalsa International), Hardeep Singh Nijjar (Khalistan Tiger Force), Gurmit Singh Bagga (Khalistan Zindabad Force), Wadhawa Singh Babbar (Babbar Khalsa International), Lakhbir Singh (International Sikh Youth Federation), Ranjeet Singh (Khalistan Zindabad Force), Paramjit Singh (Khalistan Commando Force), Bhupinder Singh Bhinda (Khalistan Zindabad Force). Following an amendment in the UAPA recently, the UMHA declared a total of 13 persons as individual terrorists till date. In an official statement the U said, “These individuals are involved in various acts of terrorism from across the border and from foreign soil. They have been relentless in their nefarious efforts of destabilising the country, by trying to revive militancy in Punjab through their anti-national activities and through their support to and involvement in the Khalistan Movement.”
01-Jul-2020
The Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal asked the Central Government to reopen the corridor, which has been closed in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Pakistan recently opened its portion of Kartarpur corridor. Giani Harpreet Singh, on the occasion of the foundation day of Akal Takht, said both India and Pakistan should form a consensus to facilitate devotees to pay obeisance at Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara.
01-Jul-2020
The 414th establishment anniversary of supreme Sikh throne Sri Akal Takht Sahib was celebrated ardently by the Sikh sangat at Sri Akal Takht Sahib’s premises. A religious program was held on this occasion in which a Hazoori Raagi Jatha performed Gurbani Kirtan following the culmination of Sri Akhand Path Sahib.
30-Jun-2020
Akal Takht’s officiating Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh directed the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to pursue cases of Sikh youths who were arrested by the Punjab Police recently in connection with Khalistan. The Jathedar condemned the police for allegedly implicating Sikh youths on the false pretext of supporting Khalistan. “If Sikh youths are arrested on frivolous charges in the name of Khalistan, it is condemnable. The SGPC should pursue cases of innocent Sikh youths,” he said.