KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
05-Feb-2020
According to counter-terrorism expert, Ajai Sahni, who serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, labelling slain Khalistani terrorist Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD as a martyr is an exercise conducted at the behest of Khalistani secessionists in the Sikh diaspora. Ajai Sahni said that a handful of people working at the instructions of ageing Khalistanis, who had left India in the 1990s, were trying to give a Khalistani colour to every incident of this nature."There is a very small minority of individuals of this nature. Their efforts are to revive the Khalistani movement in the country. Overwhelmingly, they are led by people abroad. They manage to mobilize a handful of people here," he added.
05-Feb-2020
The ‘Bhog’ ceremony of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) leader Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, who was killed in Pakistan a week ago, was held at Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj in Railway Colony in Amritsar. Hardline Sikh leaders like, former Akal Takht jathedar Jasbir Singh Rode, Damdami Taksal’s spokesperson Sarchand Singh, Jarnail Singh Sakhira, Dal Khalsa leader Kanwarpal Singh, Principal Baljinder Singh, former militant Daljit Singh Bittu and Narayan Singh Chaura attended the event. The leaders glorified the slain militant leader by calling him ‘warrior’ of ‘contemporary Sikh struggle’. They also sought probe into his murder by an independent agency in Pakistan.
05-Feb-2020
Punjab Police arrested three drug peddlers and recovered around 500 grams of heroin after an exchange of fire during a raid conducted at a house that was used as their hideout in Palm Garden in Amritsar district on February 5 night. Amritsar Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Kirpal Singh said that during the raid the accused men, who were staying at a rented accommodation, opened five to six rounds at the police team and the police team also returned fire. The three men who were identified as Gurpreet Singh, Paras and Sajan have been arrested while two others, Ganja Jandiala and Javed managed to escape, he said.
05-Feb-2020
During the ‘Bhog’ ceremony conducted by the prominent Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal in the memory of slain Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) leader Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, the Damdami Taksal spokesperson Sarchand Singh said that Harmeet Singh achieved ‘martyrdom’ in his struggle, initiated by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, in Pakistan.
04-Feb-2020
According to sources, the Afghan national Armaan Bashar, who was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of Punjab Police on January 31, had been hired by drug smugglers for 50,000 dollars to refine 200 kg of heroin at an illicit unit in Sultanwind in Amritsar. While Bashar is the first such expert from Afghanistan to have been arrested in Punjab, investigators believe that the gang led by Simranjit Singh Sandhu may have hired two more experts from the country earlier and dumped hundreds of kilograms of heroin in the domestic market or abroad.
04-Feb-2020
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) joined the Punjab Police’s anti-drug Special Task Force (STF) to probe the role of Simranjit Singh Sandhu in the racket allegedly involved in the smuggling of heroin to Punjab from Pakistan via sea route. Simranjit Singh Sandhu, who is in the custody of Interpol in Italy currently, has emerged as the prime suspect in the case involving the recovery of 194 kg heroin and chemicals by STF from a house in Sultanwind area on January 31. The STF claimed to have unearthed a heroin supply racket with overseas connections with this recovery. Meanwhile, the ATS team questioned the six accused arrested in the case. Sandhu was arrested recently in Italy on the basis of a Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued by the Interpol on request of the Gujarat ATS. Sandhu was wanted in a drug-trafficking case in which 300 kg heroin was smuggled from Pakistan to Mandvi in Gujarat.
04-Feb-2020
The Special Task Force (STF) arrested one person, identified as Harminder Singh and seized 1.20 kg of heroin from his possession from near Samundgarh Chhanna T point in Sangrur district. The STF team officials said that two accomplices of the arrested accused managed to flee from the spot.
04-Feb-2020
The services of Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Jatinder Singh, who was caught smuggling 50 gm of charas into the Kapurthala Modern Jail on February 4, were terminated on February 5. Though the ASI, posted with Jalandhar rural police, was assigned the duty to take prisoners from jail to court for hearings for the past one year, he claimed that this was the first time he had smuggled in drugs. He also told interrogators that a jail inmate had called up his accomplice to hand over the drugs to him when he was escorting prisoners to a Jalandhar court for a hearing.
03-Feb-2020
The Special National Investigating Agency (NIA) court in Mohali declared alleged Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist, Kulwinderjit Singh alias Khanpuria as a proclaimed offender (PO). Kulwinderjit Singh, who is wanted in multiple cases of terror acts in Punjab, is reportedly in Malaysia. NIA had filed a charge sheet in a terror conspiracy case on November 21, 2019, against four alleged BKI terrorists including Kulwinderjit Singh and NIA had already got a lookout circular issued against him, an officer said.
03-Feb-2020
In its latest tactics to step up the proxy war against India, Pakistan has now stooped to narco-terrorism to cause more damage and harm to India, says experts. According to experts, Pakistan has been vigorously supporting the widespread supply of drugs in the Indian state of Punjab, which will be spoiling an entire generation of youth in the state.“This is a double threat for India as Pakistan is not just working towards 'damaging the youth of Punjab', but is also making millions of rupees that are subsequently used to fund terrorism in Kashmir and other parts of the country”, said an expert.
02-Feb-2020
The Indian intelligence agencies suspect that the killing of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) leader, Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD is the fallout of a rivalry between three groups over control on drug money. An official said that, “There is an ongoing rivalry between Pakistan-based Khalistani groups led by Harmeet Singh, Khalistan Zindabad Force’s Ranjit Singh Neeta, and Paramjit Singh Panjwar of the Khalistan Commando Force. Initial reports suggest that drug money has been a major factor.”Harmeet Singh was wanted by various Indian agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Punjab Police, in 17 cases.The official also added that the recent spurt in trafficking of Afghan-origin heroin through traditional sea routes via Pakistan had led to generation of huge money for the syndicates that were also being used to push weapons into India for terror activities.
02-Feb-2020
The BSF personnel and some villagers reportedly spotted a drone-like object along the Indo-Pak border in Jalalabad subdivision of the Fazilka district of Punjab on February 2 evening. Jalalabad Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jaspal Singh Dhillon said that the entire area had been searched to rule out dropping of drugs or arms in the area, but nothing was found.
01-Feb-2020
The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested an arms supplier of the militant outfit Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), identified as Ashish Kumar from Roorkee in Haridwar District of Uttarakhand. According to Police, Ashish Kumar, who hails from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, was wanted in a case of attempt to murder lodged at Mohali district of Punjab in 2018. He had allegedly supplied weapons to KLF members involved in the killing and attack on some Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members in Punjab. The Additional Director General, ATS, D K Thakur said that Ashish used to supply weapons to one Gugni Grewal, who is considered a close aide of slain KLF leader Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD. Kumar also confessed that he had sold eight pistols to Gugani over the past three years.
01-Feb-2020
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed an application for obtaining the mobile and computer data of an accused booked in connection with the September 5, 2019, Tarn Taran bomb blast in which two persons were killed while making the explosives. The NIA court in Mohali issued notices to the defense counsel of the accused to file the reply and fixed February 3 as the next date of hearing.
01-Feb-2020
Police arrested a person, identified as Rahul Bishnoi (26) along with 1.3 kg of opium from the Sriganganagar-Suratgarh bypass in Abohar in Fazilka district.
01-Feb-2020
The Special Task Force (STF) of the Ludhiana police arrested a car trader, Raman Dhawan and his accomplice, Nitin Khurana along with 3.1 kg opium and Rs 44 lakh drug money near Chhabra Colony at Pakhowal Road in Ludhiana on February 1.
01-Feb-2020
Three prisoners, identified as Vishal (22), Gurpreet (34) and Jarnail (25) escaped from Amritsar Central Jail on the intervening night of February 1-2.
31-Jan-2020
According to sources, Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) has turned several chiefs of Khalistani terror outfits based in Pakistan into drug smugglers who are destroying a generation of youth of Punjab and other parts of India. Smuggling of weapons and drugs by Pakistan-based Khalistani terror chiefs has resulted in a rivalry among the militant Sikh Groups who are competing for the ISI's patronage and each one of them is trying to outperform the other in smuggling drugs like heroin in India, report said. It was the result of rivalry among the Khalistani militant groups based in Pakistan that on January 27, the ‘chief’ of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, was killed at the Dera Chahal Gurudwara near Lahore by a local gang over financial disputes stemming from drug smuggling.
31-Jan-2020
The Special Task Force (STF) of Punjab Police arrested an Afghan national, Arman Basharmal, involved in refining heroin along with five others including a woman during a raid on an illegal manufacturing unit in Sultanwind in Amritsar. The STF recovered 194 kg of heroin, 38 kg of a synthetic drug and 207 kg of chemical from their possession. The STF also seized a gas burner, commercial cylinders, utensils and a mixer grinder from the spot. As per report, it is after nearly seven years that a drugs manufacturing unit has been busted in Punjab. Earlier, an illegal factory run allegedly by Ravi Kandola gang was busted.
31-Jan-2020
The Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh asserted that he would not spare anyone found implicated in the case related to the recently busted major narco-terror racket, irrespective of their political affiliations. Making it clear that his government would not allow drug smugglers, narco- gangsters and narco-terrorists to spread their wings in the state, which had witnessed massive decline in the number of deaths due to drug abuse, as a result of the efforts of the government and the police.
30-Jan-2020
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) would again take the voice samples of the nine accused Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terrorists for their involvement in smuggling of arms using drones from Pakistan to Indian Punjab through the International Border. Barring Gurdev Singh, all other accused in the case, Akashdeep Singh, Balwant Singh, Shukhdeep Singh, Mann Singh, Sajanpreet Singh and Malkit Singh appeared in the NIA court in Mohali.
29-Jan-2020
The killed Khalistani terrorist, Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD was among the list of 15 pro-Khalistan activists active in Pakistan in the garb of making preparations for celebrating the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in November 2019. According to Indian intelligence agencies, India, during the second round of Kartarpur Corridor talks between India and Pakistan in Wagah in July 2019, submitted a 23-page dossier of 15 pro-Khalistani activists residing in Pakistan, containing events from the past four years to Pakistan. The dossier also included the year-wise pictorial details of key Khalistani elements in Pakistan and their anti-India activities on social media.
29-Jan-2020
The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has changed its nomenclature from Sikh Referendum 2020 to Punjab Referendum 2020 and invited members of other religions, besides Dalits. According to report, after failing to get any response for their referendum 2020, SFJ, through their posters circulated on social media, has extended the program to all communities and invited Dalits to join the campaign. According to Punjab Police, SFJ had abandoned the Sikh referendum movement and shifted its stance after it got no response from the Sikh community over its separatist agenda. Police officials also said that there was an outcry over anti-national activities of the SFJ. The SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in his recent video posted on a Facebook group titled 'Sikh Referendum 2020' besides the Sikhs and Muslims, can be seen appealing to all Christians and Hindus to vote for his dream project referendum 2020. "This is also for all the Muslims and Christian brothers that the referendum is not closing. We will be sending the registration forms to every household and the voting will start on June 6, 2020. Hindus having immovable property in India cannot vote as there are some restrictions," Pannun said.
28-Jan-2020
The news of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) ‘chief’ Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD’s killing in Lahore in Pakistan on January 27 brought relief to Indian security agencies, especially the Punjab Police, which had got nine red corner notices issued against the terrorist leader. Happy PhD, who was a PhD student in religious studies at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar in 2008 and later became the ‘chief’ of terror outfit KLF, remained a headache for the Indian security agencies for more than 11 years. He was one of the most active Khalistani terrorist in Pakistan and was allegedly involved in almost every terror attack, radicalisation of youths and drug smuggling in Punjab since 2008. His name first appeared in terror-related activities on November 5, 2008, when the Makhu police of the Ferozepur police district named him in an FIR for having received a cache of weapons and ammunition from Pakistan to kill Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. However, Police couldn’t arrest him in that case. Later, he reportedly moved to Pakistan where he rose through the militant ranks fast and became the KLF ‘chief’ in a few years. According to police, Happy PhD was considered the main link between Khalistani and Kashmiri militants. He also ran a network of funding terror activities and smuggling through Dubai-based smuggler Jasmeet Singh Hakeemzada.
28-Jan-2020
Special Task Force (STF) arrested a drug smuggler, identified as Varinder Kumar alias Sonu (25) and recovered 360 grams of heroin from his possession in Sector 39 area in Ludhiana, Punjab. During preliminary questioning, he revealed that he had been smuggling drugs for the past more than four years and he was his way to supply the contraband to his clients.