KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
| Incident Date | Incident | Civilian Killed | Military Killed | Security Force Killed | Civilian Injured | Military Injured | Security Force Injured | Civilian Abducted | Military Abducted | Security Force Abducted |
| 28-Feb-2023 | On February 28, Waris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh visited to honour the death anniversaries of two militants. One was observed at Manochahal village in Tarn Taran district for Bhindranwala Tiger Force (BTF) chief Gurbachan Singh Manochahal, while another was observed in Chabba village in Amritsar district for Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) Sukhdev Singh Chabba. During both gatherings, Amritpal Singh was offered 'siropas' (robe of honour) by the organizers. When addressing the public, Amritpal defended his recent act of carrying the Guru Granth Sahib to Ajnala. "Only Guru Granth Sahib can guide us from darkness to light," he said. | |||||||||
| 23-Feb-2020 | The suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Balwinder Singh Sekhon accused the Food and Civil Supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu of masterminding a bomb blast at Gur Mandi area of Ludhiana in 1992. He also alleged that minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu is a former Khalistani terrorist who worked with Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan (BTFK) and demanded his removal for involvement in anti-national and heinous crimes. Balwinder Singh Sekhon said, "The statements given by Ashu to the police in 1992 say he was part of Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan (BTFK) that used to harbour arms and ammunition provided logistics support to Khalistani terrorists and was involved in the murder of three people including a lady Home Guard, Constable Shyam Sundar and his uncle. He is a very dangerous person and can kill me. He should be removed as a minister." Balwinder Singh Sekhon also accused that the minister not only conspired the 1992 Ludhiana bomb blast, but also confessed his involvement in a triple murder case reported the same year."Charanjit alias Swarnjit alias Channa a hardcore Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan (BTFK) besides five other ultras were associated with my father and used to visit my dairy located at Dairy Complex, Haibowal. I used to take care of their weapons as nobody suspected me", copies of a police statement claimed to have been given by Ashu to then SP City Ludhiana SS Sandhu on May 6, 1992, issued to the media said. He also said that Ashu had established links with the Khalistani terrorists to kill his uncle Jagdish Chand who he suspected had killed his parents. | |||||||||
| 14-Sep-2018 | The Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan (BTFK)—a pro-Khalistan militant group has claimed the responsibility of the ‘low-intensity’ blasts at the Maqsudan Police Station in Jalandhar District of Punjab on September 14 night. Reportedly, a letter with the letter-head stated ‘Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan’ (BTFK) went viral on the social-media platforms, claimed the responsibility of the attack. The letter also warned the Police personnel not to unnecessarily harass the people. However, the authenticity of the letter is yet to be ascertained. | |||||||||
| 19-Mar-2018 | The Punjab Police on March 19 has arrested an absconded militant, Ranjit Singh alias Rana (55) who belongs to the Bhindranwala Tigers Force (BTF), from a religious shrine at the village Kohar Kalan in Jalandhar District in Punjab. Ranjit Singh, resident of Jagatpur Jattan in Hoshiarpur District in Punjab, was working as a Granthi (Sikh priest) to conceal his identity for the past one year. He was on absconding status from 19 years, said an unnamed Police official. Rana was involved in five cases of murder and had served two years of sentence in a case, but was absconded in two other cases. Primarily, Rana was involved with BTF but did not ruled out his links with other Khalistani militant outfits such as Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) and Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), said Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sandip Sharma | |||||||||
| 13-Nov-2014 | BTKF militant Rattandeep Singh recorded a confession statement about his involvement in the bomb blast at Sector 34, on June 30, 1999, and named Pakistan-based Sikh militant, Paramjeet Singh Panjwar, for masterminding the blast. Singh, in his confession statement, also claimed that most fugitive militants settled in European countries and Pakistan have been indulging in drug trafficking. Meanwhile, Singh disclosed that the recently held Jasbir Singh aka Jassa had got him INR 1, 00,000 before executing the blast. Sources in the operations cell said, "During interrogation, Rattandeep narrated the pathetic condition of extremists based in Pakistan and other foreign countries. Panjwar, head of KCF, is now a builder in Pakistan and under the acute pressure of ISI to revive terrorism in Punjab." He also disclosed his links with Pakistan-based head of KZF, Ranjit Singh Neeta. | |||||||||
| 22-Mar-2013 | Two persons, including an alleged militant of Bhindranwale Tigers Force (BTF) Kulbir Singh Assandh, were arrested by Punjab Police from near Sirhind of Fatehgarh Sahib District in connection with the Zirakpur drug haul case (February, 2013). "Both had been involved in smuggling of drugs for last many years. They were mainly working and supplying drugs to arrested NRI Anup Singh Kahlon, dismissed DSP Jagdish Bhola, Sukha Gakhal and Raja Kandhola," said Fatehgarh Sahib Senior Superintendant of Police (SSP) Hardial Singh Mann. | |||||||||
| 30-Mar-2010 | A hardcore militant arrested by the Punjab Police was working towards the revival of terror outfit KLF and planning to carry out a series of explosions in the State at the behest of Pakistan's ISI, a senior Police official said. Amritsar City Police Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma said, “He was associated with the defunct KLF and was working towards its revival by trying to cause series of explosions in the State at the instance of Pakistan's ISI.” “Baba at a very young age joined the BTFK (Sangha Group) in the early 1990s. Subsequently, after the death of BTFK area commander Sukh Ram Singh Kulara, he joined KCF headed by Jarnail Singh Shatrana,” the Commissioner said. | |||||||||
| 15-Jun-2007 | Punjab police claimed to have foiled an attempt of some terrorist groups to reorganize their base and create terror in Punjab by killing some high profile religious and political leaders. General secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal’s youth wing in Rupnagar district, Swaranjeet Singh alias Bobby of Bahadarpur, and a Bhindranwale Tigers Force militant Gurcharan Singh alias Kala of Bawani village were arrested. Bobby and Kala had planned to assassinate religious leader Baba Piara Singh Bhaniarawale and to achieve this plan, they had formed the Khalsa Action Committee, in which they were recruiting like-minded persons. A .455 bore US-made 1950-model sophisticated pistol, a.30 bore revolver, its 5 live cartridges, and 2 live grenades were recovered from the duo. | |||||||||
| 27-Jul-1990 | A warning was issued by several militant groups, including SSF, AISSF (Bittoo), BTFK, KCF, and KLF, cautioning students of a specific community not to apply for admission in professional colleges. | |||||||||
| 29-Mar-1989 | Balwinder Singh resigns from the membership of the Panthic Committee and supports unity between AISSF, KCF, KLF and BTFK. | |||||||||
| 03-Nov-1988 | 11 Hindu bus passengers killed by Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan (BTFK) at Sufian Wala in Ludhiana in Punjab. | 11 | ||||||||
| 09-Mar-1988 | Jasbir Singh Rode takes over as Jathedar Akal Takht. Saropas presented on behalf of Panthic committee, AISSF, KCF, BTFK, Akal Federation and SGPC. | |||||||||
| 09-May-1987 | Gurbachan Singh Manochahal become the ‘chief’ of BTFK. | |||||||||
| 15-Apr-1987 | Gurbachan Singh Manochahal resigns from the Panthic Committee and forms a new organization called “Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan”. |