KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
15-Aug-2019
BSF arrested an Indian smuggler Harjinder Singh alias Jinder from Mohammadi Wala border outpost in Ferozepur District. A magazine, 31 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the arrestee. Moreover, 16 kilo grams of heroin was recovered from the arrestee. He was arrested by BSF while he was coming back from the Pakistani side by swimming across the Sutlej river.
15-Aug-2019
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Chandigarh unit had seized 2.7 kilo gram opium and 6.14 kilo gram Heroin from Ludhiana, Amritsar and Ferozepur in Punjab in two weeks preceding Independence Day (August 15). NCB Director General (DG) Rakesh Asthana stated that they plan to focus n cross border cartels bringing drugs from Afghanistan. Bureau also plan a crackdown on Delhi-Punjab drug network operated by Af-Pak based cartels.
15-Aug-2019
Three anti-drug activists were attacked by drug peddler at Gurusar village in Muktsar District. The anti-drug committees of Gurusar and Ghagga villages today held a joint meeting to discuss the issue and rework their strategy. The members said they would not give in to the threats.
15-Aug-2019
A woman, identified as Kulbir Kaur was arrested for her linkage with a pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), from Delhi airport in New Delhi. According to Police, the arrestee had moved to Malaysia from Barnala city (Barnala District) in Punjab in 2008 and was one of the active members of the SFJ. Police said that, Kaur is accused of brainwashing some youths, who set fire to two liquor vends in Harpur Dhandoi and Panjgrayan villages in Gurudaspur District. Police was verifying whether she was also involved in funding of Referendum 2020 activists or not. However, Police official stated that during investigations it was revealed that the funding was made from someone in UK.
15-Aug-2019
According to report, since October 2018, at least 11 youths including six from Amritsar, two from Tarn Taran and one each from Delhi, Roorki (Uttarakhand) and Gurdaspur (Punjab) have been arrested for posting banners related to Referendum 2020.
14-Aug-2019
Drug smugglers opened fire at a Police party at Dadial village in Hoshiarpur District. The Police party was conducting a raid when the smugglers fired upon them. One smuggler was arrested while two others escaped. A pistol and 100 grams of intoxicant powder was recovered.
13-Aug-2019
One man was arrested along with one kilo gram of heroin worth INR one Million from Sirhind town in Fatehgarh Sahib District. He reportedly confessed that he brought drugs from Delhi and supplied in the various Districts of Punjab.
13-Aug-2019
Pakistani Science Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted ‘’I appeal to all Punjabis in Indian army to refuse to be part of injustice and deny duty in Kashmir’’. In Reply Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh tweeted ‘’ Stop trying to interfere in India's internal matter. And let me tell you that the Indian Army is a disciplined and nationalist force, unlike your Army @fawadchaudhry. Your provocative statement will not work, nor will the Soldiers in our Army follow your divisive diktats”.
13-Aug-2019
A man was arrested for firing at the anti-drug campaign committee member at Kotli Ablu village in Muktasar District. A country made pistol and seven rounds of ammunition were recovered from the arrestee. Initial investigation has reportedly revealed that the arrestee was involved in drug peddling
12-Aug-2019
Radical Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa, United Akali Dal and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have decided to observe August 15 as Black Day. Kanwar Pal Singh of Dal Khalsa said that they will stage protests on Independence Day against the atrocities, political subjugation and denial of rights to Sikhs in the last seven decades. He also alleged that due to increased hostilities between Indo-Pakistan in the wake of government's abrogating article 370, the Kartarpur corridor is likely to become causality.
12-Aug-2019
Former MLA, Virsa Singh Valtoha had to face ire from the locals during his address on the death anniversary of Sukhdev Singh Babbar of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) at Dasuwal in Tarn Taran District in Punjab. Valtoha talked about his association with BKI. When he spoke on opening an old murder case of Patti-based surgeon Dr Sudarshan Trehan, who was shot on November 15, 1984, the organisers switched off the public address system and Valtoha was made to sit.
12-Aug-2019
Two female drug peddlers, Manjit Kaur alias Bitto and Amarjeet Kaur alias Kalo were arrested from Rajgarh village in Ludhiana District and Police seized 850-gram heroin worth over INR 1.5 crore and INR 5,00,000 drug money from their possession.
12-Aug-2019
Son of a Sarpanch (village head), Harwinder Singh was arrested with one kilo gram of opium outside Baghapurana in Moga District.
12-Aug-2019
A teenager who was abducted for ransom was allegedly murdered by drug addicts in Verka in Amritsar District of Punjab. The victim was identified as Prabhkeerat Singh. The perpetrators have been arrested by the Police.
12-Aug-2019
An individual identified as Jagdish Sharma died of an overdose of a synthetic drug at Ahata Badan Singh locality in Moga District.
11-Aug-2019
Government of India has put into motion the process to allow Sikhs, who figured on the now defunct “blacklist”, to visit India. The controversial list was done away in April 2019. GoI through embassies and high commissions abroad, written to the persons mentioned on the list that they can now travel to India. Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), a banned terrorist outfit, has welcomed the removal of the “blacklist” of Sikhs by the Indian Government. Some of its members have expressed the desire to visit India, but with a rider that they would be allowed to raise the demand for ‘Khalistan’.
11-Aug-2019
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh expressed concern over reports of slowdown in activities of discernible showdown by Pakistan to develop Kartarpur corridor. The CM urged Pakistan not to back out of their commitment. The CM also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce a special economic package for the development of the border states of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir to create better job opportunities.
11-Aug-2019
According to Government officials, Pakistan’s enthusiasm over Kartarpur corridor will depend on the unfolding situation in Kashmir once the restrictions are relaxed. While not commenting on reports that Pakistan had slowed down work on the corridor, they referred to influential voices in its establishment, such as those of former Foreign Secretary Abdul Basit, calling for work to be suspended in light of India’s Jammu and Kashmir moves. The Indian establishment has viewed the Kartarpur Corridor with a tinge of suspicion. There have been recurring concerns after the seizures of explosives and arms in Punjab and Haryana that Pakistan is attempting to destabilise Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
11-Aug-2019
Special Task Force (STF) arrested head constable Gagandeep, alias Gaggi Khanna and his two accomplices for drug peddling and recovered 785 gram heroin from their possession from an unspecified location. His accomplices have been identified as Amandeep Singh, aliasMauli, and Vikas Kumar, alias Lara.
11-Aug-2019
Two drug peddlers were arrested from Sirsa District in separate incidents. A drug peddler identified as Laksham Singh was arrested from Bappa village in Sirsa District with 100 kilo grams of Chura Post. Separately, another drug peddler identified as Vinod Kumar was arrested with 12 kilo grams of Marijuana from an unspecified location in Sirsa District.
11-Aug-2019
Anti-Narcotic Cell team recovered 20 grams of heroin from two drug peddlers, identified as Mohit Kumar and Jitender Singh in Baba Hanuman Singh Chowk in Sirsa District.
11-Aug-2019
A member of anti-drug campaign committee was shot and wounded by drug peddlers at Kotli Ablu in Muktsar District.
11-Aug-2019
Mansa Police conducted extensive searches in houses of 51 people suspected of drug peddling or liquor smuggling in the District. The Police arrested 13 people and registered 11 cases.
10-Aug-2019
India sent a reminder to Pakistan to hold technical level meetings to finalise key decisions relating to the proposed Kartarpur corridor. India had proposed that technical level meetings should be held in the first week of August. However, the sources said Pakistan is yet to respond to it, prompting the Indian side to send a reminder.
09-Aug-2019
According to a report, Punjab is struggling to wean its youth from substance abuse. An estimated 7.2 lakh people in Punjab, out of its around 3-crore population, need treatment for opioid addiction, according to a study by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Over 42 lakh people in Punjab are involved in substance abuse, including opioid, cannabis, alcohol and sedatives, it found. The figures on substance abuse in Punjab are stark. Punjab Police have arrested 34,443 persons in a total of 28,214 FIRs registered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act since April 2017.‘At present, 51% of the total 23,033 prisoners in 24 jails of Punjab are undertrials or convicts in NDPS Act cases.As per official figures, there have been 134 drug overdose deaths since 2017 to date and around 4,000 viscera samples, including those of suspected drug overdose deaths, are pending with Punjab’s only functional chemical examining laboratory in Kharar.