KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
Moga With the arrest of a 19-year-old youth on Thursday, the district police claimed to have cracked the case pertaining to putting up a ‘Khalistan flag’ on the terrace of district administrative complex on August 14. Two men in their early twenties are absconding and one of them is the son of a Punjab Police inspector.
The one arrested has been identified as Akashdeep Singh of Sadhu Wala village in Ferozepur district, while Jaspal Singh, 24, and Inderjeet Singh Gill, 23, of Moga’s Rauli village are absconding. Jaspal’s father is a police inspector, posted in Muktsar.
Akashdeep, who reportedly filmed the incident, was arrested from Bathinda. Jaspal and Inderjeet had put up the flag with Khalistan written on it on the terrace of the administrative complex at 8:15am on August 14, police said. While fleeing, the two men also removed and took along the Tricolour hoisted on the premises.
Moga senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harmanbir Singh Gill said the accused indulged in the crime in response to a call given by US-based pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) led by Gurpatwant Singh Pannu who offered a reward of $2,500 for any such act.
“A recce of the place was done on August 13 around 1.30pm by Jaspal and Inderjeet and later they contacted Akashdeep. The three reached the district administrative complex around 8am on August 14 on two motorcycles. Jaspal and Inderjeet went inside, while Akashdeep was instructed to make a video of the incident,” SSP Gill said.
“The trio left and met in Rauli village where the video was transferred to Jaspal’s phone, who shared it with the WhatsApp number given by Pannu in his video,” he said.
SSP Gill said that Akashdeep has confessed to having shot the video. “During his interrogation, he revealed that they were misguided by videos of Sikhs For Justice and committed the crime to make some quick money,” he added.
The accused have been booked under sections 115, 121, 121A, 124A, 153A, 153B, 506 and 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act; Section 66-F of the IT Act and Sections 10, 11, 13 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by the Moga city police.
Meanwhile, some activists of SAD (Amritsar) and Dal Khalsa staged a protest outside the SSP office, alleging illegal detention of a sister of one of the accused and a minor boy.