Time Line-2020

India 01-Apr-2020

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered an FIR in a case relating to terror attack on a Gurudwara at Kabul, Afghanistan in which 27 devotees were killed and several others injured. The NIA said it has registered the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and under the provisions of Section 6 (8) of the NIA Act and started an investigation into the recent attack. This is the first case of its kind which NIA has registered as the recent amendments in the NIA Act, which empowered the agency to investigate terror cases that are committed at any place outside India against the Indian citizens or affecting the interest of India.

India 02-Apr-2020

Former Hazoori Ragi (permanent gurbani singer) of the Golden Temple, Giani Nirmal Singh, who tested positive for the coronavirus, died in Amritsar. The Padma Shri recipient returned from abroad recently and was admitted to the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital after he complained of breathlessness and dizziness on March 30.

India 04-Apr-2020

The Khalistani militant, Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar was released from Amritsar Central Jail for six weeks on parole. Bhullar, who has been serving a life sentence for his role in the 1993 Delhi blast that killed nine people and wounded several others, was among 529 prisoners who have been released from jail in an attempt to decongest Indian prisons in view on the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Afghanistan 04-Apr-2020

Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) said that Afghan forces have arrested the leader of the country’s Islamic State (ISIS) group affiliate and the mastermind behind the attack on the Gurudwara that killed 25 Sikh devotees. The NDS said in a statement that Aslam Farooqi, also known as Abdullah Orakzai, had been arrested along with 19 other men in a ‘complex operation’. An NDS official said that Farooqi was the mastermind behind an IS-claimed attack on a Sikh temple in Kabul last month that killed at least 25 people. Known as Islamic State in the Khorasan (IS-K), the Afghan IS branch has been on its back foot in recent months following continued operations by US forces and separately by the Taliban.

India 04-Apr-2020

The acting Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh directed the Sikh community to hold symbolic celebrations for Vaisakhi this year, amid ongoing coronavirus outbreak in Punjab. He has directed the Sikh masses to stay indoors and listen Gurbani Kirtan on TV while offering prayers at their homes.

India 05-Apr-2020

The Jathedar of the Takht Patna Sahib, Giani Ranjit Singh urged the Prime Minister Narender Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to quash the FIR (First Information Report) registered by the Delhi Government against Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) for providing shelter and food to stranded passengers who had sought refuge in Gurdwara Manju Ka till due to lockdown. He highlighted the social and charitable works being undertaken by various Sikhs institutions worldwide and told that at present 100 gurdwaras are providing langar to standard people in Punjab due to lockdown.

Pakistan 06-Apr-2020

Pakistani authorities cancelled the Baisakhi celebrations at Gurudwara Panja Sahib in Punjab province from April 14, in which around 3,000 Sikhs from India were to participate, due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

India 07-Apr-2020

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa criticized Pakistan PM Imran Khan over pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla's allegation that land in Nankana Sahib belonging to Guru Nanak Dev was being grabbed by the rich by paying money and there was a collusion with the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) of Pakistan. "Lands belonging to Gurdwara Sahibs are sold to Rich & Mighty of Pak as part of a well-planned strategy to take over worship places of minority Sikhs Gopal Chalwa has exposed atrocities & misuse of land by ETPB Officials; would PM @ImranKhanPTI take some action? @thetribunechd," Sirsa tweeted.

Pakistan 07-Apr-2020

Sikh community in Pakistan has shut down Gurdwaras in Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province after the provincial government banned gathering of more than five people for worship in religious places to stop the spread of the coronavirus which has infected nearly 4,000 people and killed 55 in the country.

Pakistan 07-Apr-2020

Pakistan’s Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) deputy secretary shrines, Imran Gondal said that a meeting of the ETPB and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbadhank Committee (PSGPC) unanimously decided that there would be no Baisakhi celebrations at the shrine in Hassanabdal city this year and the scheduled visits of Sikh pilgrims has been cancelled. The Baisakhi celebrations scheduled to begin on April 14 at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Punjab province, in which 3,000 Sikhs from India and 2,000 from elsewhere were to participate.

India 07-Apr-2020

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) demanded quashing of an FIR against the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) for allegedly providing shelter and food to stranded devotees, who had sought refuge in Gurdwara Majnu Ka Tilla in the wake of Covid-induced lockdown. Terming it as an anti-Sikh move, the SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said that overlooking the social and charitable works being undertaken by various Sikh institutions, the FIR against the DSGMC by the Kejriwal government testified its narrow approach.

India 07-Apr-2020

India 08-Apr-2020

Lawyers of Punjab and Haryana High Court are receiving recorded calls from the New York-based pro-Khalistani group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which was banned by India last year, seeking their opinion about its so-called movement to "free" Punjab from India. According to reports, the recorded calls instigate listeners against the central government and the Punjab administration using the novel coronavirus pandemic as an excuse. Referring to the tough action taken by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi against those violating lockdown norms, the pro-Khalistan group has also accused them of ‘torturing’ youngsters. SFJ also claimed that it is paying Rs 2,000 to Punjab's Covid-19 victims. However, it could not be substantiated. Sources in the intelligence agencies confirmed that similar calls are being made on behalf of SFJ for the past one week in other parts of Punjab. These calls are made from only one US-based number +18336101020. The lawyers' numbers seem to have been taken from the e-directory or may have been provided by somebody. "Votaan raahi Punjab nu Bharat de kabje ton Azaad karvana chahnde haan, par Captain te Modi di sarkar corona kahar de hondeyan bhi Punjab de naujawana te tasdaat kar rahi hai. Sikhs For Justice corona kahar de peeditaan nu Rs 2,000 de rahi hai te Captain di sarkar ik bar pher bharma rahi hai sirf vadeyaan naal. (We want to free Punjab from the occupation of India through votes. Captain and Modi governments are using force against the youth of Punjab despite the current crisis due to coronavirus. SFJ is paying Rs 2,000 to the victims of Covid-19 but Captain's government is still misleading with mere promises)," goes the recorded call. The recording also includes a simple poll. "Asi tuhade tonh ek sawaal puchhna chahnde haan, je tussi SFJ di nitiyaan naal sahmat ho to ek dabao, je Modi or Captain di nityaan to sahmat ho taan do dabao. (We want to ask one question, if you endorse the ideology of SFJ, then press one and if you support Modi or Captain, then press two)." The recording is apparently in voice of its legal adviser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, but it could not be confirmed.

India 08-Apr-2020

The Sarbat Khalsa appointed Akal Takht Jathedar Jagtar Singh Hawara directed the Sikh community to recite Chaupai Sahib and pray for the high morale of Sikh community on the eve of the Vaisakhi this year. He also directed the Sikhs to hoist Kesri flags on the top of their houses and seek a safe exit of humanity from this covid19 pandemic.

Pakistan 09-Apr-2020

The Pakistan government asked Afghanistan to hand over the recently arrested Islamic State terrorist, responsible for the deadly terror attack on Sikh Gurudwara in Kabul to Pakistan. According to the sources, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the ambassador of Afghanistan to Pakistan, asking for Aslam Farooqi's custody. Afghan security forces on April 5 had arrested Farooqi involved in the massacre of around 27 Sikhs in a terror attack on a Gurudwara in Kabul on March 25. As per an official statement, Islamabad sought Farooqi's custody for investigation because he is allegedly involved in anti-Pakistan activities in Afghanistan.

India 09-Apr-2020

When the State authorities are busy with all the efforts to check the spread of the corona virus outbreak, the US-based pro-Khalistan outfit, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) is pushing its secessionist agenda by promising Rs 2000 each for coronavirus positive persons in the state and asking people if they support SFJ or the governments led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. For the past many days, residents of Punjab, including lawyers, the top police officers, media and others, were getting recorded interactive voice response (IVR) messages of SFJ ‘legal advisor’ Gurpatwant Singh Pannun from phone numbers having US ISD code. These call messages, which promise Rs 2000 aid to patients, also ask the receiver to ‘press 1’ if they agree with the policies of SFJ or ‘press 2’ if they agree with the policy of Centre government led by PM Modi and Punjab government. The chief of Punjab Police Intelligence Wing, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Varinder Kumar, said that police were seized of the matter and had discussed the issue with Centre also. He said the police had earlier got blocked one of the numbers, but Pannun started using another number to send the recorded voice messages. Police believe that recorded messages are being routed through some Call Center.

India 10-Apr-2020

Punjab Police registered two cases against pro-Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and his banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) for seditious automated calls aimed at instigating the people, particularly youth, against the state government during the Covid19 lockdown. The Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta said that the cases have been registered against Pannun and the US-based SFJ under Section 124A of the IPC, and Sections 10 (a) and 13 (1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, at the State Special Operations Cell, Mohali. According to Mohali police, preliminary probe revealed that Pannun was involved in the commission of seditious acts of advocating secession of Punjab through automated calls as well as pre-recorded audio messages to various residents of Punjab and nearby areas in March and April 2020, with the intention to foment trouble in the state.

Canada 10-Apr-2020

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) arrested two Indo-Canadian men, identified as Sukdeep Singh (31) and Inderjeet Singh (26) and seized around 38kg of suspected cocaine from a commercial vehicle from Ontario in Canada. The estimated the value of the contraband is over 4.8 million CAD, approximately Rs 26.2 crore.

India 11-Apr-2020

Sikh leader and Congress MP (Member of Parliament) Pratap Singh Bajwa urged the India government to prevent Pakistani interference in the investigation of the Kabul Gurudwara terror attack in which 25 Sikhs were killed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) recently. Bajwa in a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar pointed out that the Imran Khan government on April 9 had asked Afghanistan to hand over the recently arrested ISKP terrorist involved to Pakistan. The Afghan security forces had arrested Farooqi on April 5 for the March 25 terror attack. “Pakistan’'s demand for Farooqi’s custody is an attempt by Pakistan to hide information regarding their involvement in the terror attack," Bajwa said. Though the Afghanistan government on April 10 declined Pakistan’s request, Bajwa pleaded with the central government to ensure that all steps were taken to prevent Pakistan's interference in the case.

India 12-Apr-2020

Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh appealed to the people of the state not to step out of their homes on Baisakhi, which will be celebrated on April 13, and follow the ongoing lockdown imposed to combat the coronavirus outbreak. He also asked them to pray from their homes at 11 am on April 13 for the state’s victory over the deadly COVID-19 ‘enemy’ and the safety of children.

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