KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
19-Dec-2013
A 39-year-old Indian-American, Balwinder Singh alias Jhajj alias Happy alias Possi, who received asylum in the US, was arrested by the FBI on charges of providing material support to Sikh separatist groups BKI and KZF planning militant attacks in India.
07-Dec-2013
An investigation by Punjab Police into the case of Dev Behl alleged drug cartel kingpin revealed that he was once an associate of Dawood Ibrahim and his brother Anees and was involved in gold smuggling racket being operated by them in the 1980s.
01-Oct-2013
Police arrested an ISI agent, Harjinder Singh, an ex-serviceman, near Havelian village in Amritsar District. Police seized two Pakistani SIM cards from his possession and a diary containing information on sensitive installations. They also arrested three cross-border smugglers, Harwant Singh, Gurdev Singh, and Gurdit Singh, along with Harjinder from the same location. Police also seized a pistol and six .32 bore cartridges, 250g opium and a 0.5kg intoxicant powder from their possession.
15-Sep-2013
Punjab Police busted a sleeper cell of banned terror outfit KLF that had several Shiv Sena leaders on its radar, arresting three militants, identified as Sukhjinder Singh, Narinder Pal and Surinder Singh in Gurdaspur District. An AK-47 rifle with a magazine and 20 cartridges, one 0.38 bore US-made revolver with 5 cartridges and a Brazil-made 0.45 bore Taurus pistol with three cartridges were recovered from them.
12-Sep-2013
BSF foiled an attempt of armed Pakistani smugglers to smuggle arms, ammunition, and heroin in India from IB with Pakistan in Ferozepur Sector of Ferozepur District, Punjab. When challenged by BSF, Pakistani smugglers fired at BSF party that was retaliated and the smugglers flee leaving behind arms, ammunition, and heroin. BSF recovered 13kg of heroin valued INR 650 million in the international market, one pistol super gold 30 bores, two plastic grenades marked ARGES SPL HG 14/97, two pistol magazines and 50 rounds.
05-Sep-2013
At least 10 top Sikh militants, holed up in Pakistan for many years, are under pressure from Pakistan’s intelligence agencies to revive Sikh militancy in India, Indian intelligence sources claimed. "Pakistan is so desperate to reactivate the militant leaders that it has told them to either create turmoil in India - or quit Pakistani territory for good," said an unnamed senior security official. Security officials say the list of 10 names have been shared with several Police forces, including those in Delhi and Punjab.
29-Aug-2013
According to Delhi Police, arrested LeT operative Abdul Karim Tunda had planted a bomb in Amritsar (Punjab) in 2009 on the direction of BKI operatives.
26-Aug-2013
After the confession of arrested LeT operative, Abdul Karim Tunda about BKI planning terror strikes in India, Punjab police is set to place an order for 3,350 AK-47 assault rifles. "However, we felt that the requirement is not for the sophisticated weapons anymore but for the power that simply shoots the target dead with sheer raw power…We have now gone back to the original plan of 1990s when there only AK-47s" an official said.
21-Aug-2013
Punjab Police questioned LeT operative Abdul Karim Tunda over his links with top leaders of Sikh separatist outfit BKI and his role on December 31, 2009 case relating to recovery of 10kg of RDX in Amritsar. Police also said Tunda had met top BKI militants Ratandeep and Wadhwa Singh Babbar on several occasions and his network was constantly used to carry out BKI operations.
14-Aug-2013
KLF militant Devinderpal Singh Bhullar’s plea seeking a review of its verdict refusing to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea by the government has been dismissed by the Supreme Court. A bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi refused to review its April 12, 2013, verdict by which it had rejected his plea for commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment. Bhullar was convicted and awarded death penalty for triggering a bomb blast here in September 1993, killing nine people and injuring 25, including then Youth Congress president MS Bitta. The Supreme Court had on March 26, 2002, dismissed Bhullar's appeal against the death sentence awarded by a trial court in August 2001 and endorsed by the Delhi High Court in 2002. He had filed a review petition which was also rejected on December 17, 2002. Bhullar had then moved a curative petition which too had been rejected by the apex court on March 12, 2003. Bhullar, meanwhile, had filed a mercy petition before the President on January 14, 2003. The President, after a lapse of over eight years, dismissed his mercy plea on May 25, 2011. Citing his delay, he had again moved to the Supreme Court for commutation of the death sentence but his plea was rejected.
19-Jul-2013
The Supreme Court sought a response from the CBI on a petition moved by Babbar Khalsa militant Jagtar Singh Hawara, the mastermind in the killing of Punjab CM Beant Singh on August 31, 1995, challenging his conviction and life imprisonment. A bench comprising justices B.S. Chauhan and S.A. Bobde issued a notice to the agency on the appeal filed by Hawara against the October 12, 2010 judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The High Court had commuted the death penalty of Hawara and sentenced him to life imprisonment till death. However, the CBI on December 5, 2011, had moved the apex court seeking the death penalty for him saying the offense falls under the category of 'rarest of rare' cases.
27-Jun-2013
An Indian national, identified as Satpal Singh alias Raghvir Singh believed to be part of BKI has been deported to India from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Singh was arrested on January 4, 2013. Special Task Force (Operations and Counter-Terrorism) Director Comm Datuk Mohamad Fuzi Harun said that they believe he is part of a Sikh militant group called BKI. He had been supplying the group with fake travel documents and using our country as a transit point for the group's activities.
11-Jun-2013
The Punjab government is set to rope in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to conduct a comprehensive study on the prevalent drug menace in the state. UNODC in a tie-up with the Punjab health department that will carry out the comprehensive study. Discussions also centred on the role of Pakistan's ISI in cross-border smuggling. With almost every drug seizure, recovered FICN and arms as well. Since FICN is the domain of ISI only, the agency could likely be behind the cross-border smuggling. Procuring a quantity of 300 kilograms of heroin from Afghanistan at a total cost of Rs 3 crore is not a big deal for the ISI. Pakistani agency's motive could be an attempt to destabilize the nation.
05-Jun-2013
UMHA Sushil Kumar Shinde said that Pakistan's external intelligence agency, ISI, is trying to revive militancy in Punjab.
26-May-2013
Sikh organization Dal Khalsa has sent a 'memo' to the EU for intervention on the issue and to save KLF militant Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, who was awarded death sentence for killing nine persons and injuring 17 others in Delhi in a bomb attack on September 11, 1993.
21-May-2013
Some radical Sikh leaders led by Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) President Simranjit Singh Mann raised the Khalistan demand at a meeting. Mann stated that he still supports the Khalistan movement and the Sikh community abroad also favours it.
15-May-2013
Daljit Singh alias Jitu, a militant of KZF was extradited from Malasia to the Punjab Police through IB. A lookout notice was there against Daljit at all airports in the country. He was produced in Hoshiarpur court following his extradition and now is in police remand. He was wanted by the State Police in a case of arms and ammunition recovery on March 21. Daljit is the nephew of Punjab militant BalwinderPossi, who is wanted by the State Police and is presently in the US.
15-Apr-2013
BSF recovered FICN worth INR 487,000 along with 18 kg heroin valued around INR 900 million in the international market from Tarn Taran District.
15-Apr-2013
Two operatives of BKI had transferred money amounting to INR 22 million to the kin of Balwant Singh Rajoana for the revival of terrorism in Punjab. Pakistan based BKI leaders Wadhwa Singh and Jagtar Singh Tara are trying to revive terrorism in Punjab and wage war against the Government of India. A UK based BKI operative, Balbir Singh Bains had sent INR 10.1 million through Western Union to Rajoana’s sister Kamaldeep Kaur between March 21 and April 3, 2012, according to NIA. INR 5.4 million was transferred into Kaur's ICICI Bank account (number 151501500897) between December 17, 2011, and March 31, 2012. There was another remittance to Rajoana's sister between September 2012 and April 2013, bringing the total to INR 22 million.
12-Apr-2013
Supreme Court declined to commute the death sentence of KLF militant Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, found guilty of killing nine and injuring 17 others in Delhi in a bomb attack on September 11, 1993.