KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
04-Jan-2023
Punjab Police’s special task force arrested an alleged drug peddler, identified as Jassi Kumar (21) after recovering 920 gm heroin from his possession at a checkpoint in the Moti Nagar area in Ludhiana district. Police said he has been involved in the drug trade in the area for the last few years. The scooter used by the accused in the crime has also been impounded.
04-Jan-2023
An electrician, identified as Paramjit Singh (45) was shot dead by two armed persons at his house in Bardeke village near Jagraon in Ludhiana district. According to reports, the assailants fired four bullets, killing him on the spot. There were reportedly three persons who came in a car and two of them entered the victim’s house. The incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed in the house. Meanwhile, after the incident, a Facebook post by Jaspreet Singh, who claimed to be Canada-based fugitive gangster Arsh Dalla, took the responsibility for the murder. In the post, he said Paramjit had been murdered as he had “mentally harassed” a person at Minian village due to which he had “committed suicide”. “.. My younger brother Dilpreet Dhaliwal of Minian village was harassed and he died by suicide because of this man.. so I got him killed to take revenge of my brother’s killing…,” said the post, while tagging accounts of other gangster groups, including Jaipal Bhullar-Jassi gang and Davinder Bambiha gang. An officer from Ludhiana rural police said that it was suspected that Jaspreet Singh, from whose account the post has been uploaded, is slain gangster Jaspreet Jassi of Kharar. “Maybe his account is being misused to mislead the police,” said the officer.
03-Jan-2023
Police on January 3 arrested a resident of Prem Vihar, identified as Sunil Kumar along with 6 gm heroin from his possession near the Shiv Mandir in the Daulatpur colony in Ludhiana District.
03-Jan-2023
The Border Security Force (BSF) seized a damaged drone along with 782 gm of heroin from near the Kassowal border out post (BOP) in Gurdaspur sector in Gurdaspur district on January 3 night and the contraband was handed over to the police.
03-Jan-2023
The pro-Khalistan group, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) issued a warning for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi ahead of his Bharat Jodo Yatra which will enter Punjab on January 11. The Khalistani group once again threatened the Congress leader and challenged him to walk on the streets of Punjab. The group in the video said that a "bomb found in the park near CM Bhagwant Mann's Chandigarh residence could also have been found on the helipad."
03-Jan-2023
Slogans in favour of Khalistan were found written on the walls of the SSP office in Sri Muktsar Sahib in Sri Muktsar Sahib district. Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a banned Khalistani terror organization based in the US, released a video taking responsibility for the act. Reportedly, the incident took place outside SSP Upinderjit Singh Ghuman's office where the walls were defaced with various slogans. Slogans like ‘Khalistani Zindabad’, ‘Rahul Gandhi Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Indira Gandhi assassination, etc were written on the wall. Later, SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun released a video of himself talking about various incidents in Punjab including bomb found near Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s office, Khalistani slogans written and also spoke about Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.
03-Jan-2023
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has been investigating multiple cases related to the smuggling of drugs, explosives and weapons from Pakistan into Indian territory using drones, is likely to look into January 2’s seizure of a drone by the Border Security Force (BSF) in Gurdaspur in Punjab for clues. It carried a consignment of one-kg heroin. The NIA has so far detected two modules comprising alleged members of banned terror outfits. Based on the findings, it has arraigned 12 accused persons in these cases.
03-Jan-2023
A day after an abandoned bombshell was found in a mango orchard near Nayagaon, Punjab-Chandigarh border, Chandigarh Police has ruled out a terror angle. In an official release issued on January 3, police said it appears to be a shell from old ammunition, and some scrap dealer must have dumped it there. The Army, however, is yet to release its detailed analysis report.
03-Jan-2023
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann on January 3 directed officers to confiscate the property of those involved in drug peddling to counter the drug menace in the state. Chairing a meeting to review the law-and-order situation in the state, Mann reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to wipe out the scourge of drugs from the state. He said the government had already put the big fish involved in drug peddling behind the bars and to ensure stern action, the property of drug peddlers must be seized with immediate effect. The CM said necessary amendments, if any required, in the requisite laws will be duly made and the officer in whose jurisdiction drugs are sold would be held accountable for this lapse.
03-Jan-2023
A Pakistani intruder was shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) on the International Border (IB) near Gurdaspur in Gurdaspur district on January 3 morning. The accused who crossed the border was neutralised by the 72nd Battalion of BSF at around 8 am when BSP troops were on their routine patrolling. According to the reports, a pump action shotgun was recovered from the Pakistani intruder.
02-Jan-2023
A live bomb shell was recovered in the fields on the Nayagaon-Kansal Road in Chandigarh, which is about one kilometer away from the helipad and about two kilometers from the official residences of Punjab Chief Minister (CM Bhagwant Mann and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar. An official of the disaster management department who reached the spot said that the police control room received a message that a bomb-like object had been seen near the Kansal and Nayagaon T-point. "When we checked it and found that it was a live shell," he said, adding the area has been sealed. "It is a matter of investigation how this shell reached the spot," the official said.
02-Jan-2023
Rupnagar district police claimed to have arrested six accomplices of dreaded gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and seized 12 pistols along with 50 live cartridges in Ropar on January 2. One of the accused, Varinderpal Singh, was allegedly operating under the code name 777 from Amritsar jail. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vivek Sheel Soni said the accused were also involved in the smuggling of weapons and drugs in the state on a large scale. Earlier on December 15, the police had arrested four such accused and recovered four pistols from them.
02-Jan-2023
The Border Security Force (BSF) on January 2 recovered another Pakistani drone with a consignment of approximately 1 kg of heroin near the International Border (IB) in Gurdaspur sector. According to BSF, it was an “old broken” drone (Hexacopter) which was found at a distance of two km from the IB by its troops under Border Out Post Kossowal in Gurdaspur.
01-Jan-2023
According to sources, there has been a fourfold spike in the number of drones being sighted in Punjab coming from Pakistan to deliver narcotics, weapons, explosives and ammunition. From January 2022, around 254 drones were sighted of which 22 were shot down by BSF. In 2021, 67 drones were spotted. Sources said, of the 254 drones spotted in 2022, BSF troopers fired at these drones on 226 occasions. As many as 22 drones were brought down and captured (nine were shot down and another 13 fell due to various reasons). Also, while 221 drone activities were detected inside the Indian territory and 22 inside Pakistan. Some 311 drones were spotted in 2022 across the entire western border — Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. In 2021, around 104 drone activities were recorded and 77 in 2020. Around 75% of sightings were in Punjab of the total drone activities reported along the western border this year. While in Punjab, as many as 133 drones coming from across the border were sighted by the BSF in 2020 and 2021, out of which 67 drones were sighted in 2021. A senior BSF officer said each BSF ‘hit’ team at the border that brings down a drone through rifle firing or using jamming technology is rewarded with a cash incentive of Rs 1 lakh. “This incentive is meant to motivate the troopers battling the drone menace,” said the officer.
01-Jan-2023
According to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sources, four districts of Punjab along the border with Pakistan reported essentially the most variety of drone sightings final 12 months, and most of them had been China-made and that 22 had been shot down, resulting in seizure of narcotics, arms and explosives. The Border Security Force (BSF) has recognized Amritsar, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur and Fazilka on the worldwide border the place greater than 85% of payload originating from throughout the border was dropped. Citing BSF knowledge, the officers mentioned that out of 200 drone sightings between July and December, 176 had been recorded in these four districts. Of the 22 drones introduced down by BSF this 12 months, 21 had been in these districts – up from one final 12 months.
31-Dec-2022
According to reports, Intelligence agencies have received information that pro-Khalistan elements are planning to detonate IEDs in court premises in Delhi, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. Sharing this input with the local police, the security system has been asked to be strengthened. Intelligence also warned that the possibility of a similar attack on any other court complex in Punjab (except Ludhiana and Jalandhar) cannot be ruled out. Sources said that the alert was issued based on some chats related to Germany-based Khalistan terrorist Jaswinder Singh Multani. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has offered a reward of Rs 10 lakh to Multani.
31-Dec-2022
According to report, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered as many as 73 terrorism-related cases in 2022, including 11 in Jammu and Kashmir, and seven related to the outlawed Popular Front of India (PFI). This is about a 20% increase compared to 2021 when the federal anti-terror investigative agency registered 61 cases. Officials said that this is also the highest number of cases registered by the NIA since its inception in 2009 following the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack of 2008. As many as 59 charge sheets were filed in 2022 against 368 people. For 2022, 456 accused persons, including 19 absconders, were arrested. Deportation of gangsters and pro-Khalistani suspects from Malaysia and Austria were also part of this.
31-Dec-2022
According to latest report, the year 2022 witnessed over two hundred drone intrusions from Pakistan in the Indian Punjab even as the Border Security Force (BSF) is yet to install an effective anti-drone technology all along the 553 international borders with Pakistan in Punjab and is currently dependent on troops' alertness in detecting the "bee like" buzzing over Indian skies in the border towns of Punjab which has become a new terror symbol. BSF Inspector General (IG), Punjab Frontier, Asif Jalal informed that during 2022 BSF had downed 22 Pak drones. “This is due to maintaining extremely high level of alertness and vigil by our troops that we have successfully detected and captured 22 drones," said the IG. He further informed that BSF had also seized around 317 kg of heroin besides 67 different types of weapons and 850 rounds. The border guarding force had also killed 2 Pakistani intruders and apprehended 23 Pakistani nationals in different incidents. "Displaying a humanitarian approach BSF has also handed over 9 Pakistani nationals back to Pak Rangers, these Pak nationals had inadvertently crossed the international border to India", he said.
31-Dec-2022
According to sources, while the drone incursions penetrating into the Indian airspace from across the border multiplied three times in Ferozepur sector this year (2022), the amount of heroin seized reduced to almost half as compared to last year (2021). Sources said, 63 drone intrusions were reported this year (2022) along the Indo-Pakistan border in this sector, while 77.78 kg heroin was recovered by the BSF troops. In 2021, only 13 such incidents of drone incursions were reported in this sector; besides 214.955 kg heroin was recovered. This quantity of heroin does not include the contraband seized by other law enforcing agencies operating along the border, including CIA, Narcotics Control Bureau, Punjab Police, Counter Intelligence and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, SSOC and newly formed STG, besides others. Besides heroin, the BSF troops in this sector also recovered 40 firearms (all types), 290 live cartridges, 60 magazines in 2022. “Our forces have thwarted several attempts by anti-national elements to push consignments of contraband and arms inside our border, but we are determined to preserve the sanctity of the borders at all times,” said BSF official, admitting that Pakistani smugglers have been desperate to push drugs into the Indian territory, taking advantage of the standing crops and dense fog during the winter season.
31-Dec-2022
Police on December 31 arrested four more persons, identified as Kuldeep Singh Laddoo, Ashokdeep Singh Arash, Gursewak Singh Sewak Khalli and Harman Singh, in connection with the RPG attack on the Sarhali police station along with illegal weapons. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said Harman Singh provided shelter to the main accused at his tube well room, while the other three dealt with the money sent by the mastermind of the attack. Two pistols were seized from Kuldeep Singh and Ashokdeep Singh, while parts of an air gun used in the manufacture of illegal revolvers were seized from Gursewak Singh. With the arrest of the four, the count of those involved in the attack has gone up to 14. Seven juveniles, who had a minor role in the attack, had been let off by the police on humanitarian grounds. Canada-based gangster Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa Harike, is the mastermind of the attack.
30-Dec-2022
The Intelligence Agencies issued an alert about a terrorist attack in Punjab on New Year's Eve. According to reports, several terrorist organisations can execute attacks with the aim of spreading terror across Punjab at the behest of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), reports Daily Guardian on December 31. Aside from court complexes, there is information that the Deputy Commissioner (DC) office, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) office, Police stations, and government offices might be targeted. Following the input, security has been tightened in key locations around Punjab.
29-Dec-2022
The separatist organisation Lashkar-e-Khalsa Khalistan on December 29 threatened to kill Abhilakshya Khanna, son of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Jalandhar District Vice-President Vivek Khanna and Councilor Shaili Khanna, through its spokesperson, identified as Sandeep Singh Khalistani. Through a Whatsapp call, the Khalistani supporter demanded that Khanna leave the BJP, join the Congress, and only cast his vote for the Congress party, failing to which he and his family will be killed. The Indian Army and ministers have also been targeted, as per the Whatsapp message delivered by the Khalistani.
28-Dec-2022
According to data compiled by the Border Security Force (BSF), there have been 254 drone activities in Punjab from January 1 to December 28, 2022 as compared to 67 in 2021. This includes 221 activities detected inside Indian territory and 22 inside Pakistan. The activity in Punjab accounts for about 84 per cent of the total drone activities reported along the entire western border in 2022. In 226 out of the 254 incidents in 2022, the spotted drones were fired upon by BSF personnel. The data also shows that nine drones were shot down by the BSF and another 12 may have landed or fallen due to other reasons. Another four drones were recovered by the Punjab Police in 2022. Across the western front running through the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the number of drone activities has witnessed a three-fold increase, from 100 in 2021 to 304 in 2022.
28-Dec-2022
The Punjab Police on December 28 arrested two people, identified as Jashnpreet Singh and Sarwan Singh alias Sabba, from Gurdaspur District in Punjab and recovered 10 kilograms Heroin along with two pistols, four magazines and 180 live cartridges. “The arrested persons were in contact with Pakistan based operative who pushed the consignment through the fences into India”, the Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab Gaurav Yadav stated.
27-Dec-2022
Punjab Police on December 27 neutralised a sub-module of Canada-based terrorist Lakhbir Landa and arrested three operatives, identified as Kulbir Singh, Hira Singh, and Davinder Singh from Billianwala bridge in Tarn Taran District in Punjab. The Police have also recovered a loaded Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) and a rocket launcher buried along the banks of River Beas at Kiriyan village in Tarn Taran District in Punjab. According to Police, terrorist Lakhbir Landa is the main conspirator of RPG attacks at the Sarhali police station on December 10, 2022 and claimed the neutralised sub-module was being handled by militant Yadwinder Singh operating from Manila in Philippines on Landa’s instructions.