KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
Days ahead of the Cricket World Cup fixture, pro-Khalistan slogans were found written on the outer wall of a government office in Dharamshala. The graffiti was painted on the boundary wall of Jal Shakti Department late on Tuesday.
Police rushed to the spot and erased the graffiti after being alerted by some passersby.
Police said that banned pro-Khalistan group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has claimed responsibility for the act.
SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu had recently threatened to disrupt the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament.
Director general of police Sanjay Kundu in a press statement said that a case under Section 3 of Himachal Pradesh Open Place (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act-1985 and Section 3 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act 1984 has been registered in the matter at Police Station Dharamshala.
Kundu said that in view of the incident, five additional patrolling teams and local intelligence units have been activated in Dharamshala and Mcleodganj areas.
Kundu said that two suspects have been identified after checking the CCTV footages. It is observed that the suspects clicked photographs of the graffiti after writing it. Thus, cell phone analysis is also being conducted, he said.
The DGP said that a video was being circulated on social media wherein a voice message reportedly of SFJ leader Pannu claims to target the final match of the ongoing One Day International World Cup-2023.
Kundu said that a joint intelligence sharing meeting was also conducted at Dharamshala on Tuesday with officers from military intelligence, IB and CID units sharing intelligence for coordination during the upcoming World Cup matches.
Intensified vigil and surveillance shall be maintained throughout the district. All possible efforts are being made to nab the culprits in the matter and investigate the case, he added.
Earlier in May 2022, some people had tied Khalistan flags on the main gate of Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha’s Dharamshala complex and scrawled separatist slogans on its boundary wall. The Dharamshala police had arrested two men from Morinda of Rupnagar district, Punjab for painting the graffiti.