KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
16-Feb-2020
Police arrested one person, identified as Vishav along with 21 gm of heroin from near DSP chowk in Fazilka district. Sources said that Vishav had been bringing the contraband from Nawan Salemshah village.
16-Feb-2020
Police arrested two persons, identified as Karan Kumar and Sajan Kumar, for allegedly taking drugs at a secluded place near gate number 2 of the local grain market in Fazilka district. Police recovered 2 gm of heroin from them.
16-Feb-2020
The Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Dinkar Gupta said that after the interrogation of gangster Sukhpreet Budda and arms supplier Ashish, the Punjab police had found that their two key aides - Jagdeep Singh alias Jagga and Gurvinder Singh alias Pehalwan - had a nexus with operators in Pakistan. Both the accused were arrested and one-kg heroin and Pakistan SIM cards were seized in a joint operation of the Organised Crime Control Unit and Mohali police on February 13. Investigation so far has revealed that the duo had received a large quantity of heroin and fake Indian currency from Pakistan through various routes via different modes. They were wanted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Rajasthan Police and Punjab Police in cases related to receiving huge consignments of heroin from Pakistan.
15-Feb-2020
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) objected to the restoration of the 17th century palace in Delhi, Sheesh Mahal where sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s coronation took place in 1658. DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa and other members on February 15 called the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb “a cruel leader and a murderer,” and said that it was unfortunate that the decision to renovate the structure was taken in the 400th birth anniversary year of Guru Tegh Bahadur. “Guru Tegh Bahadur sacrificed his life against Aurangzeb’s attempts of forceful conversions. It is surprising that Aurangzeb has been glorified despite his atrocities on Sikh gurus. People need to be reminded of his bloody past, instead of glorifying things associated with him,” said Sirsa, who is also a member of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
14-Feb-2020
Police arrested two persons, identified as Hardeep Singh and Janaki Prashad for their alleged involvement in drug smuggling and recovered 4 kg opium from their possession from the T-point on Sirhind-Patiala road near Chaurwala village in Fatehgarh Sahib district.
14-Feb-2020
A Sikh leaders delegation led by the Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa met the Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and requested his intervention to end monopoly on the live telecast of Gurbani from Golden Temple. However, Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh directed the preachers to refrain from controversial issues while delivering discourse on Gurbani. He said that the purpose was to spread a message that the preaching references should be quoted only from Gurbani so that there should be no confusion among the Sikhs.
13-Feb-2020
The top Sikh body, Akal Takht extended its support to the Muslim groups that have been protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) for weeks. After meeting with a delegation led by Delhi Minority Commission chief Zafarul Islam Khan, the Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpeet Singh stated that there is a sentiment of fear and insecurity among the minorities and the Sikhs are bound to stand by the oppressed. "Sikhs are bound by their principles to stand for the victim and against injustice. We had received a similar request from another group of the Muslim community. There is a sentiment of fear and insecurity among minorities and it is not good for the country," he said. He asked the Muslim leaders to also seek the support of Hindu groups against the CAA.
13-Feb-2020
An undertrial drug smuggler, identified as Manjit Singh alias Chappi escaped from the police custody after he was produced before a Sessions Court in Hoshiarpur in Punjab.
13-Feb-2020
Punjab Police on February 13 claimed that they have arrested 23 criminals from Ferozepur and adjoining states Haryana and Rajasthan, based on information revealed by the gangster Sukhpreet Singh alias Budha who was arrested in November 2019. Budha, the wanted gangster, was deported from Armenia and arrested when he landed at the Delhi airport in November 2019. The DGP, Dinkar Gupta said that "Budha made several revelations, which led the state police to solve many untraced heinous crimes in Punjab."He added that the arrested criminals were facing charges of murder, dacoity and extortion, kidnapping and targeted killing. Police have also recovered 36 firearms from the criminals and four shops dealing in guns have been sealed.
13-Feb-2020
The officiating Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Harpreet Singh said that he would be happy to receive Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu but in the presence of kin of those who were killed during the tenure of Beant Singh as Chief Minister. Bittu, the grandson of Beant Singh, on February 12 said he wanted to ask the Jathedar about what action he intended to take against him. Earlier, Bittu had objected to the Jathedar’s remarks hailing Paramjit Singh Bheora, convicted in the Beant assassination case.
13-Feb-2020
An unidentified caller threatened to kill the Congress’ Member of Parliament (MP) from Ludhiana, Ravneet Singh Bittu and another local party leader Gursimran Singh Mand in Punjab. Gursimran Singh Mand said that the caller gave the threat in a three-minute long call on February 13 evening in which the person also used abusive language against late Chief Minister Beant Singh. Ravneet Singh Bittu is the grandson of Beant Singh who was killed by Khalistani militants in 1995. Bittu had been threatened by the radical Khalistani elements earlier as well.
12-Feb-2020
The National Investigating Agency (NIA) special court in Mohali issued Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs) against two Khalistani terrorists belonging to the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) in a case related to dropping of arms and ammunition in Punjab by drones originating from Pakistan. NBWs were issued against KZF chief Ranjeet Singh Neeta,a resident of R. S. Pura in Jammu, who is based in Pakistan at present and Gurmeet Singh alias Bagga, a resident of Hoshiarpur district in Punjab who is based in Germany now. An NIA spokesperson said that, "During investigation, role of Neeta, Pakistan based chief of Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), a proscribed terrorist organisation and Singh, a key operative of KZF based in Hamburg, Germany has been found in the conspiracy of trafficking of illegal arms, ammunition, explosives, communication devices and FICNs into India to further terrorist activities." The duo is wanted for dropping arms and ammunition and fake currency notes in September 2019 at Chola Sahib in Punjab via unmanned aerial vehicles or drones that originated from Pakistan. A case against the two was filed under Sections 489-A, 489-B, 489-C and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Explosive Substances Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Prisoners Act in Amritsar.Nine persons have been arrested in this case till now and the probe is ongoing, the NIA spokesperson said.
12-Feb-2020
The Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Dinkar Gupta expressed the need for modern anti-drone technology to check the menace of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that have been making drugs and weapons drops in the Punjab region since last year. He said that the state police was in talks with the Indian Air Force (IAF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indian Army and intelligence agencies to counter the drone menace, which, he feared, could lead to the next round of militancy in the state. Punjab Police is concerned about the growing use of technology in a narco-terrorism racket from across the border in Pakistan, with about 40 movements of sophisticated UAVs noticed in the Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozpur and Fazilka districts of Punjab.
12-Feb-2020
According to Indian official sources, since the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) mounted pressure against Pakistan government, terror groups based in Pakistan have been smuggling weapons for their recruits in Jammu and Kashmir via Punjab. It said that since the February 2019 Pulwama suicide attack, dozens of weapons enroute Jammu and Kashmir, have been seized in Punjab. There has also been a rise in the Pakistan-originating Chinese drones dropping weapons and communication devices in Punjab following the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5, 2019.Pakistan-based terror groups have sent at least eight drone sorties, air-dropping 80 kg of weapons in Punjab during the last few months, sources said.
12-Feb-2020
The Special Task Force (STF) arrested three persons, identified as Simarjit Singh alias Simmi, Varinder Kumar alias Vinkal and Rajwant Singh alias Raj and recovered 200 gm of heroin, besides one country-made pistol and two live rounds from them in Ferozepur district.
11-Feb-2020
Police arrested two persons, Balwinder Singh and Balwinder Singh and recovered 24 kg of poppy husk from near Kikarwala Rupa village in Fazilka district.
11-Feb-2020
Police arrested two men, Gurdip Singh and Ajay Kumar along with 10 gm of heroin, a pistol and six live cartridges in Fazilka district of Punjab.
10-Feb-2020
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mohali sent three arrested accused in the drug smuggling case involving the slain Pakistan-based Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) member Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, to the NIA custody. According to NIA officials, the court sent three accused, Nirmal Singh, Satpal Singh and Hiralal for seven days to the agency’s custody. The case pertains to the arrest of three accused persons with 500 grams of heroin and Rs 1.2 lakh in drug money for which a case was registered in Amritsar. The NIA official said that during investigation, role of Harmeet Singh, whois believed to have been killed in Pakistan, has emerged in running a cross-border narco-terror network through drug smugglers, militant elements and hawala operatives based in Punjab and other states in India.
09-Feb-2020
The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures shows that the areas under Ludhiana rural police had witnessed third highest recoveries of drugs among police districts and Commissionerate’s in the state in 2018. The Ludhiana police Commissionerate is ranked 9th in the list.As per the NCRB data, Amritsar rural and Jalandhar rural districts were number one and two with 1,179 and 950 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, respectively, followed by Ludhiana rural police district with 859 cases. Ludhiana police Commissionerate reported 495 cases under the NDPS Act in 2018. Analysis of sub-categories revealed Ludhiana Commissionerate was at the sixth spot as far as the cases of possession of drugs for personal consumption was concerned. The city witnessed 439 such cases in that year. Taran Tarn, Sangrur, Ludhiana rural, Kapurthala, and Patiala were at number 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 witnessing 715, 630, 550, 498, and 478 cases, respectively. Ludhiana police Commissionerate had just 56 cases of possession of drugs for trafficking, whereas Amritsar rural witnessed highest such cases at 1,179, Jalandhar rural 715 and Bathinda 545. The number of cases related to NDPS Act in Ludhiana commissionerate was less as compared to the previous year. However, social activists say that the data does not present the actual picture.
09-Feb-2020
The Special Task Force (STF) arrested Punjabi actor Mantej Mann in connection with smuggling, processing and refining of 194 kg heroin recovered from the house of the Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manwar Masih in Amritsar on January 31. STF Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kaushtubh Sharma said that Mantej’s name came up during investigation of already arrested accused in the case following which a team arrested him for further investigation.
08-Feb-2020
The Member of Parliament (MP) from Ludhiana, Ravneet Singh Bittu accused Akal Takht Jathedar Harpreet Singh of “promoting and encouraging killers and hence giving the wrong message to Sikh youths in Punjab that those who will kill will be appreciated and honoured”. He further said that Harpreet Singh should focus on religious affairs not politics, but if he wishes to interfere in politics, then he must fight an election. Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of former chief minister late Beant Singh, was reacting to a video in which Jathedar Harpreet Singh, is purportedly seen delivering a speech at the bhog ceremony of the mother of Paramjit Singh Bheora, who was among those convicted for the assassination of Bittu’s grandfather. In the clip, the Jathedar is also purportedly heard appreciating those who executed the assassination and calling them “veer yoddhey”.The Akal Takht Jathedar is heard saying in the video, “Jis mukhmantri de raaz vich eh sab kuch ho rehasi...uss mukhmantri nu sodheya ehna saadey soor veer yoddheyan ne… (The CM under whose regime all that was happening, that CM was punished by our courageous warriors)”.
06-Feb-2020
The Indian intelligence sources said that Harmeet Singh was ‘eliminated’ by Pakistan’s ISI for having failed to ‘prove his worth’ while being provided ‘protection’ along with other Sikh fugitives in Pakistan. Sources said that many Sikh fugitives in Pakistan were involved in drug trade and were using their connections and negligible support in Punjab for it. “If they fail to do the task given to them by ISI, they meet the same fate as that of Harmeet,” sources added.
06-Feb-2020
In a poster circulated on social media, slain KLF chief Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD’s father Avtar Singh said he came to know about his son’s death through media reports and had appealed to Sikh organisations and individuals to converge in large number for his son’s ‘Antim Ardas’ (Final Prayers).
06-Feb-2020
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court sought a report on the medical treatment being given to Malkit Singh alias Shera, who was arrested by the NIA in connection with the September 5, 2019 Tarn Taran blast case. The court has directed the Amritsar jail superintendent to file the report by March 5, 2020. Meanwhile, NIA also sought permission from the NIA court for procuring mobile data and Facebook records of the accused named in the Tarn Taran blast case. NIA had so far arrested five persons, identified as Malkit Singh alias Shera, Mandeep Singh alias Massa, Amritpal Singh, Chandeep Singh, and Amarjit Singh in the case. NIA sources said that the accused had support of the Sikh For Justice (SFJ) organisation and wanted to revive terrorism in Punjab. NIA had also said two accused, Bikram Singh alias Bicky alias Bikkar Singh and Harpreet Singh alias Happy, died on the spot while Gurjant Singh and Malkit Singh sustained injuries while they were trying to dig out an explosive buried by them in a vacant plot on the outskirts of Pandori Gola village in Tarn Taran District on September 5, 2019.
06-Feb-2020
Police arrested a person, identified as Ajitpal Singh for peddling drugs and recovered 260 gm of heroin from him near Satluj bridge in Phillaur in Jalandhar districton February 6 night.