KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
Two days after the protective glass installed around the statue of BR Ambedkar was spray-painted with pro-Khalistan and anti-Constitution slogans in Phillaur, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the chief of banned terror outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), was on Wednesday booked for stoking terror and promoting disharmony and hatred.
The Jalandhar Rural also police invoked provisions of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the case registered against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the Sikhs for Justice at Phillaur police station.
The Jalandhar Rural also police invoked provisions of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the case registered at Phillaur police station.
The fresh FIR was registered on the complaint of Khushi Ram, a former sarpanch of Nangal village in Phillaur sub division and the district in-charge of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), after he received an objectionable audio recording on Tuesday afternoon in which Pannun allegedly threatened to remove Ambedkar’s statue from the village.
Ram said that the person in the audio recording sounded like Pannun and demanded the statue replaced before April 14, the birth anniversary of Ambedkar. The SFJ leader promised to pay ₹10 lakh to anyone “who accomplishes the task”.
“Pannun has again hurt the religious sentiments of people and has been trying to play divisive politics, which cannot be tolerated,” the complainant said in the FIR
SFJ activists allegedly vandalised the protective glass installed around the statue on March 31 by spray-painting pro-Khalistan and anti-Constitution slogans on it, besides putting up derogatory banners.
Phillaur deputy superintendent of police Sarwan Singh Bal said: “We are sending the audio recording for forensic investigation to check its veracity. Police have been appealing to people to guard against baseless rumours.”