KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
19-May-2025
On May 19, the Akal Takht, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), and several Sikh organisations condemned YouTuber Dhruv Rathi for using artificial intelligence (AI) animation to depict Sikh Gurus in a video titled "The Sikh Warrior Who Terrified the Mughals." Acting Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj, issued a stern warning demanding the immediate removal of the video. SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami criticised the AI-generated portrayal of Guru Gobind Singh and the Sahibzadas, calling it a violation of Sikh principles and historical sanctity. Following the backlash, Rathi took down the video.
19-May-2025
The Border Security Force (BSF) on May 19 announced that it had successfully recovered the 100th Pakistani drone used for smuggling arms, explosives, and narcotics along the Indo-Pakistan border in Punjab this year. Recoveries in 2025 so far include 111 kg of heroin, 60 weapons, 14 hand grenades, and over 10 kg of high explosives.
19-May-2025
On May 19, Punjab Police as part of its ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign, registered 109 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 147 drug smugglers and recovered 2.7 kg of heroin, 84 kg of poppy husk, 73000 and INR 1.22 lakh drug money from their possession, across Punjab.
19-May-2025
Police on May 19 arrested one individual, identified as Jagjit Singh, and seized INR 3.15 lakh in drug money from his possession in the Islamabad area of Amritsar in Amritsar district. Singh was an accomplice in a cross-border drug trafficking racket linked to Sandeep Singh, who was arrested on May 18 along with his associates Akashdeep Singh and Akash alias Mota. The trio was caught with 10.248 kg of heroin. Sandeep Singh is alleged to have smuggled over 200 kg of heroin into Punjab since 2018 using drones in coordination with Pakistan-based smugglers.
19-May-2025
The Ferozepur police on May 19 arrested four individuals, identified as Swaran Singh, Gurwant Singh, Sandeep Singh and Manpreet Singh and seized 4.25 kg of heroin and INR 1.97 lakh in drug money, along with a car from their possession, in Ferozepur in Ferozepur district.
19-May-2025
In a rare display of unity, Punjab’s political parties rallied behind the Centre and armed forces following India’s launch of Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam massacre. Leaders across party lines evoked Punjab’s martial legacy, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decisive action, and lauded the bravery of Indian soldiers. Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) Sukhbir Badal commended Modi for making Pakistan “beg for a ceasefire,” while Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann highlighted Punjab’s frontline vulnerability and called for compensation. Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa invoked Guru Gobind Singh to honour Punjabi soldiers’ courage, state Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring condemned Pakistan as an “evil nation,” and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Sunil Jakhar endorsed the operation as precise and justified, though he cautioned against the economic toll of war.
19-May-2025
Punjab Police on May 19 dismantled a terror module of the banned Khalistani outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and arrested six operatives—identified as Jatin Kumar alias Rohan, Barinder Singh alias Sajan, Rahul Masih, Abraham alias Rohit, Sohit, and Sunil Kumar— and seized a 30-bore pistol from their possession in Batala, Gurdaspur district. The module was allegedly planning a grenade attack on a liquor vend and was receiving direct instructions from Maninder Billa, operating from Portugal, and Mannu Agwan, who recently assumed operational control of BKI following the arrest of Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia in the United States (US).
18-May-2025
Khalistani terrorist and chief of the banned outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in a statement on May 18, provocatively labelled India’s official diplomatic mission to the United States (US) as a “Delegation of Devils,” in an apparent attempt to derail India’s global outreach following Operation Sindoor. Echoing Pakistan’s narrative, Pannun accused India of manufacturing war and further escalated threats against Indian diplomats by announcing a USD 10,000 reward for information on former Indian envoy Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
18-May-2025
Ex-Khalistani Kuljinder Dhillon on May 18 on the Figuring Out podcast revealed that the Khalistan movement was not purely about religion or rights, but that many involved were ordinary criminals using the cause as a cover for looting, bank robberies, and kidnappings.
18-May-2025
On May 18, Punjab Police, on day 78 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, conducted cordon-and-search operations (CASO) at 490 locations, registered 109 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 136 drug smugglers, and seized 11.3 kg of heroin and INR 3.48 lakh in drug money across Punjab. The police also launched Operation Seal-XI, targeting 92 entry and exit points across 10 border districts adjoining Haryana, Himachal Pradesh (HP), Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
18-May-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) on May 18 recovered a drone in broken condition from fields near Rattankhurd village in Amritsar district. The recovered drone was a DJI Mavic 3 Classic model.
18-May-2025
The Ferozepur police on May 18 arrested an individual, identified as Pathi, and seized a country-made .315 bore pistol and a live cartridge from his possession in Makhu town in Ferozepur district.
18-May-2025
Ludhiana Rural Police on May 18 arrested three Army personnel for drug smuggling, identified as Bikramjit Singh, Baljinder Singh Balli, and Jaswinder Singh, and seized 255 grams of heroin from their possession in Pamal village, Ludhiana district. Bikramjit Singh was arrested first, and based on his confession, the police later arrested Baljinder Singh Balli and Jaswinder Singh from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The accused had allegedly diverted a 450-gram heroin consignment that was recovered during an anti-smuggling raid in the Uri sector of J&K by exploiting their military positions.
18-May-2025
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on May 18 put on hold its decision to install a portrait of former Prime Minister (PM) Dr Manmohan Singh in the Central Sikh Museum at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The move came after objections were raised by death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana and several radical Sikh groups, who argued that Dr Singh, as a Congress leader, represented a party held responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. SGPC officials stated that the matter would be reconsidered after seeking broader consensus within the Sikh community.
18-May-2025
Amritsar police Commissionerate on May 18 busted an international narco-trafficking cartel and arrested three individuals, identified as Sandeep Singh, Akasdeep Singh and Akash alias Mota, and seized 10.248 kg of heroin and two motorcycles from their possession near Kot Khalsa in Amritsar in Amritsar district. The Police revealed that Sandeep had been in contact with Pakistani smugglers for six years and played a key role in a trans-border network, and had trafficked nearly 200 kg of narcotics since 2018 without any prior criminal record.
18-May-2025
Police on May 18 arrested 11 drug peddlers and seized 64 grams of heroin and intoxicating tablets and capsules from their possession, across Banga, Rahon, Balachaur and Kathgarh villages in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district in Punjab.
18-May-2025
Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) staff of Commissionerate Jalandhar on May 18 arrested one individual, identified as Harjinder Singh alias Mani Valiya and seized 100 grams of heroin, one .32 bore pistol, and two live rounds, from his possession, near Phatak Suranusi in Jalandhar in Jalandhar district.
18-May-2025
Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) staff of Commissionerate Jalandhar on May 18 arrested one individual identified as Mohit alias Lovely and seized 50 grams of heroin, one .32 bore pistol, and two live rounds from his possession in Jalandhar in Jalandhar district.
18-May-2025
Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) staff of Commissionerate Jalandhar on May 18 arrested one individual, identified as Aakashdeep alias Kalu and seized two .32 bore pistols along with four live rounds, from his possession, near Chugitti in Jalandhar in Jalandhar district.
18-May-2025
Muktsar Police on May 18 arrested a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, identified as Abhishek, and seized two pistols and two live cartridges from his possession, after a brief exchange of fire in Malout town of Muktsar district. Police revealed that Abhishek is involved in weapons supply and has two robbery cases registered against him in Haryana.
18-May-2025
The Moga police on May 18 arrested three unidentified Nihangs on the charge of attempted extortion and seized one firearm from their possession in Moga in Moga district in Punjab. They were arrested after a hotel owner alleged they accused him of immoral trafficking and demanded money, also snatching his licensed revolver.
17-May-2025
On May 17, an unsuccessful grenade attack at Rimple Wine Shop in the crowded Focal Point area of Batala in Gurdaspur district caused panic among residents, though police later stated that the device was a dummy. However, gangsters Manu Agwan and Gopi Nawashahria challenged the police version and warned that those endangering Punjab’s youth by selling drugs would face severe action. The grenade’s pin had been removed, but it failed to explode.
17-May-2025
Manjit Singh Bhoma, Chairman of the Punjab Dharam Prachar Committee of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on May 17 alleged that Khalistani radical and jailed Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament (MP) Amritpal Singh’s aide Papalpreet Singh was being mistreated in Ropar jail, in Amritsar in Amritsar district. He claimed Papalpreet was kept under 24-hour detention, denied access to the Gurdwara and medical treatment, and urged Jail Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar to lift the restrictions.
17-May-2025
Police on May 17 arrested a student of Khalsa College in Patiala, identified as Devinder Singh Dhillon, for spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in Kaithal in Kaithal district in Haryana. He had recently visited Pakistan via the Kartarpur Corridor and had been missing from college for nearly a month, and reportedly shared sensitive information, including images of the Patiala military cantonment, with Pakistani handlers.
17-May-2025
Punjab Leader of Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa, on May 17, criticised Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann’s claim of making 99% of Punjab’s villages drug-free, calling it a gross misrepresentation and an insult to the people’s intelligence. Bajwa condemned the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) “misrule” and demanded Mann retract his statement and apologise.