KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
16-Jun-2020
Police arrested a Punjab Police Assistant sub-inspector (ASI), Beant Singh and his accomplice, Rajinder Singh with 30-gm heroin at Muktsar in Muktsar district.
16-Jun-2020
The US-based separatist group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) urged Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh to perform ‘ardas’ on July 4, when it will begin voter registration for ‘Referendum 2020’ to seek people’s opinion on separate Punjab from rest of India. SFJ has deliberately chosen the date, as it was on this same day in 1955 that police had arrested Sikh leadership demonstrating in support of Punjabi Suba. SFJ’s leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said “SFJ is opening voter registration in Punjab on July 4, 2020, for non-governmental Referendum 2020 and we seek Sri Akal Takht Sahib’s blessings in this endeavour for Sikhs’ rights.” Sikh scholars in India are of the view that acting Jathedar’s and the SGPC president’s comments on Khalistan had given the Sikh separatists an opportunity to “rope in” Sikh religious leadership.
16-Jun-2020
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Govind Singh Longowal condemned the killing of a Sikh by a white youth in Colorado, US, and appealed to the Central Government to take concrete steps for the protection of Sikhs living in foreign countries.
15-Jun-2020
Indian intelligence agencies identified more than twenty phone numbers of Khalistan extremists, originating from the US, Pakistan and other destinations, used in spreading audio messages in various districts in Punjab. Sources revealed that maximum calls have originated from numbers bearing US code such as (+1 253 533 71XX, +1 405 835 23XX, +1 833 779 04XX). Most of these numbers are being used by banned extremist outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). A man identified himself as Imran Malik, based in Karachi, called several people in Punjab and Chandigarh, including journalists, and informed them about the secret referendum of Sikhs relating to demand for creating an independent Khalistan state.
13-Jun-2020
According to sources, weapons supplied by Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) key arms supplier Javed, who was recently arrested by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and brought to Mohali, were also used in the killings of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders in Punjab, including Brig Jagdish Kumar Gagneja (retired) in 2016. “The arms supplied by Javed were used in the killings of eight RSS leaders in Punjab, besides Gagneja,” sources said. It also revealed that a Special Investigation Team headed by AIG (counter intelligence) Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh has been set up to probe the case.
13-Jun-2020
Days after making controversial remarks on Khalistan issue, the acting Jathedar of the Akhal Takht, Giani Harpreet Singh said that the comments he made were misinterpreted. In a statement issued from Talwani Sabo in Bathinda, the Jathedar said, “Many adverse agencies are making attempts to mislead the youth by misinterpreting his meaningful statement. Such adverse forces are doing this for their political benefit by pushing Sikh on the path of terrorism and inciting Sikhs through social media.” He said that those who are spewing venom against Sikhs are followers of same hate politics and terrorism. “In fact, my statement has hurt those who want to define Sikh with false and hateful idea forcibly attached to the political ideology of Khalistan, people want to satisfy their bosses by inciting them on social media. Beware of such people and create a political movement within the democratic structure so that people from all walks of life in the Punjab region can enjoy a state like Sher e Punjab,” Giani Harpreet Singh emphasized. He also added that “Sikhism could not be defined by the idea of Khalistan alone, Sikhism is the global idea and this idea should bring peace to the world.” Meanwhile, the Jathedar also given a call for launching a democratic movement in Punjab to form a polity on the lines of the one formed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh who founded a Sikh kingdom which was annexed by the British in 1849. “As contemporary central governments discriminated against the Sikhs and betrayed them on the promises made before Independence, the sincere community leaders felt alienated and preferred to fight for concept of welfare state as enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib. This was not a demonstration of spontaneous struggle or violent inclination, but a reaction to the government’s excesses,” he said. “If Punjab has suffered from prolonged agony, genocide of Sikhs carried out by the government on the pretext of eliminating terrorism is mainly responsible for that. No parent wants their children to be killed in fake encounters and termed as terrorists,” he said.
13-Jun-2020
Police arrested two drug smugglers, identified as Davinder Singh and Balwinder Singh and recovered 1.5-kg heroin from their possession at a check point near Secha village in Kapurthala district . However, three of their other accomplices managed to flee in their car.
12-Jun-2020
Punjab Police arrested third accomplice of the arrested Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists, identified as Javed Ahmed Bhat (29) while he was trying to flee to Kashmir from Dhobra Bridge in Pathankot. According to Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta, Javed hails from the same village as the other two LeT operatives who were arrested earlier and is their childhood friend. The trio had been doing transport business together for the past over two to three years and had been making trips to Delhi, Amritsar and Jalandhar.
11-Jun-2020
The Special Operation Cell (SOC) of Punjab Police got five days’ remand of key arms supplier to Khalistani terrorist, Javed. The court sent the arms supplier to police remand till June 16. Tthe SOC pleaded before the court that they need to interrogate Javed on his links with other terrorist groups, and the sources from where he procured arms and ammunition and got the funding. The SOC submitted that it also wants to ascertain his aides in Punjab and other states of the country. Sources said that Javed was wanted in Punjab for his alleged involvement in the supply of arms and ammunition to Dharminder Singh alias Gugni, member of banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), who was allegedly involved in the murder of a senior RSS office-bearer of Punjab, Brig Jagdish Kumar Gagneja (retired). The NIA is probing the case. Ashish, an accomplice of Javed, was also arrested earlier. Dharminder Singh is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in New Delhi.
11-Jun-2020
Punjab Police arrested two Jammu and Kashmir based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives, Aamir Hussain Wani (26) and Wasim Hassan Wani (27) from the Amritsar-Jammu highway in Pathankot, and foiled a major attempt to smuggle weapons into the Valley for carrying out terror attacks. Ten hand grenades, along with one AK-47 rifle with 2 magazines and 60 live cartridges, were seized from the suspected militants. The duo, actively involved in transporting automatic weapons and hand grenades from Punjab to the Kashmir Valley.
10-Jun-2020
Police froze assets worth Rs 10 crore of two notorious drug smugglers, including Balwinder Singh alias Billa Havelian, from Tarn Taran district. Assets worth over Rs 8 crore were frozen of Billa in Tarn Taran and Mohali districts. He hails from Havelian village near the India-Pakistan border that has gained notoriety in the past few years for cross-border smuggling of drugs. Billa faces FIRs in 15 cases, including that for drug smuggling from Pakistan and attempt to murder charges, in various districts of Punjab. He has been lodged in a Patiala jail after his arrest in August 2019 with 750-gram heroin.
09-Jun-2020
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demanded resignation of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Gobind Singh Longowal after he was nominated as the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) core committee member. The national executive member of AAP and Talwandi Sabo legislator Baljinder Kaur charged the Akali leadership with using religion for their political gains and said the SAD should be derecognized as a political party.
09-Jun-2020
The YouTube revoked ban on Akaal Channel in India. The channel was blocked in India during the intervening night of June 5-6 after Ravneet Bittu complained about ‘objectionable content’ aired by the channel.
09-Jun-2020
According to reports, a total of 81.84 kg of heroin worth Rs 409.22 crore was seized by law enforcement agencies between March 24, when the lockdown was imposed, and May 31 along the 550-km-long Indo-Pak border in Punjab. Of this, almost 55 kg contraband was recovered in the Ferozepur sector alone during this period.
08-Jun-2020
The arrested arms supplier to Khalistani terrorists, Javed was sent to three-day police custody by the Mohali court. Police revealed in court that Javed had delivered around 150 weapons to gangsters in Punjab. The Punjab Police special is yet to recover weapons to identify the network of the accused arms supplier in Punjab. Police also revealed that Javed is the only arms supplier for six states, including Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir. Javed was arrested in Hapur in UP on June 7. According to Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officials, a number of pro-Khalistan terrorists have been caught in western UP and the Punjab Police was searching Javed for quite some time.
08-Jun-2020
Punjab’s Minister of Jail and Department of Cooperation, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa termed the statement of Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Gobind Singh Longowal demanding Khalistan as ‘hidden agenda’ of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). He said that by issuing such statements, both SGPC president and Sukhbir Badal want Bargari like incidents to take place once again, which is not in the interest of Punjab and Punjabis in any way. “Does the SAD support the divisive and even secessionist agenda being pursued by the SGPC President?”, he questioned.
08-Jun-2020
The executive committee of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) announced to celebrate its centenary on November 15 this year. Its president Gobind Singh Longowal said the functions to mark the centenary will be organised at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, and Manji Sahib in Darbar Sahib, Amritsar.
07-Jun-2020
Uttar Pradesh (UP), Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a key arms supplier of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), identified as Javed Khan from Hapur in Hapur district of UP. ATS, which is probing Javed’s supply channel and chains in UP, said that he is also a close aide of Ashish, who is considered to be the right hand of Gugni Grewal aka Harmeet Singh ‘chief’ of KLF and supplier of weapons to the force. Javed’s aide Ashish also has a role in murder of RSS and Shiv Sena workers in 2016. Ashish was arrested by the UP-ATS on February 1, 2020. ATS also said that weapons provided by Javed also led to the killing of top RSS leader retired brigadier Jagdish Kumar Gagneja. In this murder, Javed’s aide Ashish arrested earlier by UP-ATS was also involved. Currently, this case is being worked upon by National Investigation Agency (NIA).
07-Jun-2020
Three Congress MLAs Amrik Singh Dhillon, Surinder Dawar and Kuldeep Singh Vaid reacted strongly to the statements of Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal over Khalistan. The MLAs urged Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal to clarify their stand on the statements.
07-Jun-2020
A day after his controversial statement on Khalistan, the Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh said it was the Indian government that forced members of the community to pick arms in 1984. In a message relayed on a web channel, which was recently banned in India for its alleged anti-national content, the Jathedar while referring to the Operation Bluestar said that “picking arms was the last resort for the Sikhs for getting their demands heard by the government”. “We should ascertain as to why the Sikhs picked arms. When India got independence in 1947, the country’s leaders made some promises to the Sikhs such as giving them due respect and rights besides safeguarding their principles and traditions. But then, the Sikhs were tagged as a “criminal community” instead of delivering these promises,” the Jathedar said.
07-Jun-2020
Police arrested a drug peddler, identified as Nihal Singh Wala and recovered 75 kg of poppy from him in Moga district.
06-Jun-2020
According to reports, empowered by the Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh’s statement on Khalistan, the US-based secessionist group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) vowed to continue with its plans to hold voting for its unofficial Punjab Independence Referendum in the year 2020 while complying with the COVID-19 safety guidelines of WHO. On the 36th martyrdom year of Sant Bhindranwale, SFJ held a global conference addressed by pro Khalistan activists and international experts of democracy and referendum and announced that from July 4, 2020, people living in Punjab and Sikhs living anywhere in India will be able to register their votes for non-governmental Punjab Independence Referendum.
06-Jun-2020
As per the Punjab police records, on an average 39 accused were arrested every day in cases registered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, in Punjab in the past three years. Punjab Police also registered an average 31 FIRs per day under the NDPS Act since March 16, 2017 in the state. It reveals that from March 16, 2017, after the new state government took over the charge, a total number of 46,724 accused have been arrested in 37,526 FIRs till June 3, 2020. During this almost 40 months period, the state police have made recovery of a total of over 1,426 kilograms of heroin, over 1,569 kilograms of opium, 1.27 lakh kilograms of poppy husk, over 375 kilograms of charas, over 6,153 kilograms of ganja and over 852 kilograms of bhang. Similarly, over 1.94 lakh injections, 2.79 crore pills and capsules, and 427 kilograms of intoxicant powder has also been seized. There are 180 foreign nationals among those arrested in the last over three years in the NDPS cases. The state police have been able to achieve 68% conviction rate in NDPS cases. The STF police station in Mohali has recorded 100% conviction rate.
06-Jun-2020
Pro-Khalistan slogans were raised by some Sikh hardliners in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar on the 36th anniversary of Operation Blue Star. Around 100 activists led by Imaan Singh Mann, son of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) – SAD (Amritsar) - president and former MP Simranjit Singh Mann, raised the slogans at the Akal Takht. ‘Parallel Jathedar’ of Akal Takht Dhian Singh Mand, who entered the premises with the Mann-led group, addressed the gathering. Earlier in the day, there was a minor scuffle between policemen and the group led by Imaan Singh Mann as they were initially denied entry inside the Golden Temple. Mann sustained a foot injury during the scuffle. However, the group was later allowed entry following intervention of senior police officers present on the spot.
06-Jun-2020
Members of Sikh hardliner outfit Damdami Taksal along with Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) officials honoured the families of those who were killed during Operation Blue Star, which was carried out in 1984 to flush out heavily-armed terrorists holed up in the Golden Temple. The main programme to honour such families was organized by the Akal Takht. Giani Harpreet Singh, while addressing the gathering, said that the Sikh community will always remember the unhealed wounds of Operation Blue Star.