KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
03-May-2022
The Hoshiarpur district police arrested four smugglers by recovering a huge quantity of narcotics from them from different places on May 3. Police arrested Amandeep Singh alias Aman, a resident of Jagatpura, and recovered 78 grams of intoxicating powder from him. Gurpreet Singh alias Guru a resident Basant Bihar, was arrested by the police and 22 grams of heroin was seized from him. During a naka in the area, Mehtiana police arrested Jatinder Singh Jimmy and Lakhwinder Singh and recovered a large number of sedative capsules from them.
02-May-2022
According to reports, the Khanna police gave cash awards of just Rs 1,350 to 36 police personnel involved in the ongoing anti-drug drive. Each police personnel got Rs 20 to Rs 60. Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ravi Kumar said that as per the Punjab Police Rules, an SSP can distribute maximum Rs 150 in each case. If five police personnel are involved in nabbing the smugglers, the SSP has to divide Rs 150 among all of them. The copy of the order reveals that on May 2, Khanna SSP Ravi Kumar approved cash awards for 36 police personnel who apprehended at least 10 smugglers and seized heroin, poppy husk and opium from their possession. An Assistant of sub-inspector (ASI) -rank officer said, “I got Rs 30 for my efforts in nabbing a heroin smuggler, one of my juniors got Rs 20, while my senior got Rs 35. This amount has no relevance in present times. Instead of encouraging the policemen, this ridiculous amount may discourage them.”
02-May-2022
A politician from Himachal Pradesh, Harpreet Singh Bedi, supported the demand for a separate Sikh homeland 'Khalistan' in his social media posts. Bedi shared several tweets in support of Khalistan on microblogging site Twitter and then deleted the account. "According to the constitution, Sikh can demand for Khalistan, then how it is wrong if you want to stop this issue, try to change the act otherwise shut the...," one tweet read. He also shared pictures of the currency of the 'Republic of Khalistan'. The Mandi-based politician deleted his Twitter account after he was criticised for supporting Khalistan. Bedi was formerly associated with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) but is no longer with the party.
02-May-2022
India on May 2 condemned the “official citation” made in the General Assembly in the state of Connecticut in the United States (US), recognising the 36th anniversary of the declaration of ‘Khalistan’, saying “vested interests seek to divide communities and promote bigotry and hatred. Their agenda of violence has no place in democratic societies like the US and India”. The Consulate General of India at New York tweeted a statement, saying the Embassy of India in Washington DC and the Consulate General of India in New York would take up this issue appropriately with US lawmakers.
02-May-2022
The Khalistani terrorist outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) warned Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann and Director General Police (DGP) Viresh Bhawra against taking action against the Khalistan supporters who are accused in the April 29 Patiala violence case. In a video, SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was heard inciting communal tensions by claiming that Sikhs gave a fitting response to the "Hindu extremists" in Patiala. He also cautioned Mann and Bhawra against following a policy pursued by the late CM Beant Singh failing which they will have to face consequences. Beant Singh was assassinated in a bomb blast on August 31, 1995. In the video, Pannun also asked the police to not disrespect family members of the Sikhs named in connection with the Patiala clash. Moreover, he warned that the children of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and police officials studying in Australia, the UK, Canada and the US will be forced by SFJ to return back home if the children of the accused are harassed.
02-May-2022
Police arrested a Tanzanian woman, identified as Rahma and recovered 300 gm of heroin from her possession in Zirakpur in Mohali district.
02-May-2022
According to reports, Akal Takht is all set to initiate action against US-based Thaminder Singh Anand for allegedly distorting the Gurbani while printing the saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib in an unauthorised manner. Thaminder, who runs SikhBookClub.com, has been accused of not only getting published the copies of the ‘saroop’, but also uploading its PDF on the website.
02-May-2022
Punjab police on May 2 identified the key accused in the smuggling of drugs at the India-Pakistan border, a day after the Border Security Force (BSF) arrested a farmer with 1 kg heroin when he was returning back after tilling his fields between the barbed wire fence and the zero line. Pooran Singh of Hardo Rattan village situated near the Attari border, who owns around five acres of agricultural land on both sides of the barbed wire fence, was identified after police got inputs from Dilbagh Singh of the same village, who was arrested on May 1. “Dilbagh has told us that he was clearing the consignment of heroin from his field at the instance of one Pooran Singh of his village. We have found that Pooran also owns around five acres of agricultural land on both sides of the barbed wire fence,” an unnamed senior Punjab police official said.
01-May-2022
The Punjab School Education Board banned three books for allegedly distorting facts related to Sikh history. Punjab Education Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on May 1 said that action will be taken against writers and publishers for allegedly distorting facts related to Sikh history in the books.
01-May-2022
Border Security Force (BSF) on May 1 arrested a farmer, identified as Dilbag Singh with two packets of suspected heroin weighing approximately 1.2 kg near the international border in Amritsar sector in Amritsar district. According to sources, alert BSF troops arrested the farmer, while he was trying to conceal suspicious narcotic packets when he had gone ahead of the fence for farming.
01-May-2022
The Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of the Punjab Police on May 1 arrested three aides of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and Canada-based outlaw Goldy Brar from Bathinda in Bathinda District. Those arrested, identified as Lovepreet Singh, alias Sachin, Himmatveer Singh Gill and Balkaran, alias Vicky, were planning to target a prominent businessman of the Malwa region for extortion. The police have recovered four pistols and 20 cartridges, besides an i20 car from their possession.
30-Apr-2022
Punjab police on April 30 arrested two more persons, identified as Daljeet Singh and Kuldeep Singh, allegedly involved in the clash over an anti-Khalistan march in Patiala in Patiala district and identified a Rajpura resident with criminal antecedent as the mastermind behind the incident. Earlier hours after the clash on April 29, the police had arrested Harish Singla, the “working president” of a group called “Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray)” on charges of taking out the procession without permission and instigating violence. The new Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Patiala range, Mukhwinder Singh Chhina said that six FIRs have been lodged in connection with the April 29 incident and a total of 25 people have been named in them. He also said that police have identified Barjinder Singh Parwana, a resident of Rajpura in the district, as the main accused and one of the masterminds of the incident.
30-Apr-2022
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary Tarun Chugh said that anti-national forces sitting across the border are plotting to attack the brotherhood of Punjab. He said that permanent peace has been established in the state after thousands of sacrifices, now a conspiracy was hatched to fight the brotherhood who have been together for centuries. He said that the people of the state got caught in the trap of a handful of conspirators. Chugh said that even when there was a specter of terror in the state, both the communities did not let the limits of each other's religious sentiments get hurt.
29-Apr-2022
Khalistani elements hoisted a Khalistani flag outside Deputy Commissioner (DC) office in Malerkotla in Malerkotla district in the wee hours of April 29. A video surfaced on social media platforms in which Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the chief of Khalistani terror outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) took the responsibility for the incident. He said in the video, “On the occasion of Khalistan Day, Singhs hoisted Khalistni flag on Deputy Commissioner’s office in Malerkotla. This is a message to Bhagwant Mann’s government. The date of the Khalistan Referendum to free Punjab from India is closing down in Punjab. Prepare yourself to go on the other side of Yamuna.” Later, the flag was removed by the police from the office. While the police officials are sticking to the version that was done by miscreants to create law and order problems in the region, the security agencies are not taking the issue lightly and investigating the matter to avoid such incidents in the future.
29-Apr-2022
According to reports, a Khalistani banner was pasted outside the Superintendent of Police’s (SP) residence in Kurukshetra and outside Police Line in Kurukshetra, in Kurukshetra district of Haryana. In a video message, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ)’s chief Pannun said, “Today, the movement of ‘Haryana Banega Khalistan’ has been started across the world. Haryana and Himachal were parts of Punjab till 1966. A website has been launched for the movement. We will not give up an inch of Punjab’s land.” The video also used a photograph of Khalistan supporter and actor Deep Sidhu, who had died in a road accident a few months ago. Later, the Police confiscated the banner and initiated an investigation.
29-Apr-2022
Four persons were injured when a clash took place outside the Kali Mata temple in Patiala in Patiala district on April 29 between the members of an outfit called Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) and some Khalistan supporters. Brandishing swords and sticks, the miscreants espousing the separatist cause were seen taking on the Sena workers and this was followed by stone-pelting from both sides. Subsequently, the local authorities imposed a curfew in Patiala.
29-Apr-2022
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, while addressing a 100-member Sikh delegation on April 29, said that Sikh tradition is a living example of one India, strong India and the community has become synonymous with the national spirit of courage, prowess and diligence. “The Sikh tradition is a living tradition of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’. The nation remains grateful for the community’s contribution to India’s Independence and later. India’s history is incomplete without the mention of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s contributions, Sikhs’ struggle against the British and the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy,” the PM said. Saluting the Sikh spirit of service and enterprise, he said India’s rising stature made diaspora the proudest and opened new horizons for them as the world viewed them with greater respect.
09-Apr-2022
The Special Task Force on April 9 arrested two persons allegedly carrying 600-gm heroin near Warring village on Kotkapura Road in Muktsar in Sri Muktsar Sahib district.
09-Apr-2022
After holding a meeting with the Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Sarpanchs of Punjab’s border areas, Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann on April 9 informed that he will be meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 12 to discuss the menace of cross border smuggling in the state. In his first meeting with Home Minister Shah as Punjab CM, Mann will put forth the demand to provide the state police with the best technology to nip the issue in the bud.
08-Apr-2022
Chairing its first meeting, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on April 8 asked the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) to utilize the services of State Special Operation Cells (SSOCs) at Mohali, Amritsar and Fazilka in addition to the services offered by 361 police stations across the state to stamp out the gangsters. SSOCs have been established by the Punjab Police to interrogate accused involved in the terror-related cases. The CM reiterated his government’s firm commitment to wiping out the menace of gangsterism from the state. He said the task force would be empowered with requisite manpower, advanced technology, vehicles and adequate funds. Mann said the responsibility of providing security to three crore people in Punjab lies with him and he will leave no stone unturned to boost their morale on this count.
08-Apr-2022
A day after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) rejected Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann’s offer to allow the telecast of Gurbani at the Golden Temple on various communication platforms, the Akal Takht on April 8 asked the State Government get a nod from the Centre for the SGPC launching its own channel. Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh also directed the SGPC to launch its own web channel to telecast live Gurbani till permission for the TV channel is granted.
08-Apr-2022
Police arrested a person, identified as Gurpreet alias Gopi, who reportedly supplied weapons, including AK-47, to associates of banned Khalistani terrorist groups, from Sonipat in Sonipat district of Haryana. Earlier, on February 19, the CIA unit of the district police had arrested four persons along with weapons. The probe revealed that the accused were involved in “contract killings” in Punjab on the directions of the banned terrorist group handlers — Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF). They had relations with terrorists through the social media platforms. Gopi had supplied the weapons to them at Ambala. The court sent Gopi on four-day police remand.
07-Apr-2022
The Border Security Force (BSF) handed over two women from the Border Security sector in Ferozepur to the Punjab police after recovering 1.2 kg heroin from them. According to the BSF, the recovery was made on April 7 evening.
07-Apr-2022
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed the reply against the bail application of United Kingdom (UK) national Jagtar Singh alias Jaggi Johal who is one of the accused in the targeted killing cases. The court fixed April 21 as the next date of hearing. The NIA termed Johal a chronic offender and said in its reply that during the investigation of the case, it came to light that Johal had played an important role in the eight targeted killings which were carried out by banned terrorist organisation Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) during 2016-2017 in order to destabilize law and order situation in Punjab. The NIA also said that Johal’s involvement was also found in distribution of funds to other accused and in the translation of incendiary material online fanning the fires of secessionist sentiments in Punjab.
07-Apr-2022
Urging the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to allow the state government to install advanced broadcast and communication technologies at the Golden Temple, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on April 7 said that the Punjab government can provide all possible help in disseminating the ‘Sarb Sanji Gurbani’ across the globe.
07-Apr-2022
Border Security Force (BSF) arrested two women - mother and her daughter - and recovered two packets of heroin weighing 1.2 kg from them on April 7 near an outpost along the Indo-Pakistan border in Ferozepur.
07-Apr-2022
Police arrested two persons, Sunil alias Titu Rajput and Sohan Lal and recovered 120 kg of poppy husk from their car in Peelibanga of Hanumangarh in Abohar in Fazilka district.
07-Apr-2022
Police arrested two persons, Sunil alias Titu Rajput and Sohan Lal and recovered 120 kg of poppy husk from their car in Peelibanga of Hanumangarh in Abohar in Fazilka district.
07-Apr-2022
According to a report by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the recovery of various drugs, including opium and heroin, in India in 2020, the first year of Covid, was the highest since 2016. Data compiled by the federal anti-narcotics agency states that the seizure of opium went up from 4,488 kg in 2019 to 5,212 kg in 2020. Similarly, the seizure of heroin (extracted from opium) shot up from 3,231 kg in 2019 to 3,838 kg in 2020, ganja (cannabis) from 3,42,045 kg to 5,81,644 kg, ephedrine (a stimulant drug) from 686 kg to 841 kg, and hashish (drug extracted from cannabis) from 3,572 kg to 6,643 kg, the recently published NCB report for the year 2020 said.
07-Apr-2022
Chief Minister (M) Bhagwant Mann told the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) the state was willing to take the responsibility of installing the state-of-the-art broadcast/communication technologies at Darbar Sahib in Amritsar to broadcast ‘Gurbani’. The government offered to bear the entire cost of setting up the infrastructure. However, rejecting the offer, the SGPC asked the CM to concentrate on “fulfilling own responsibilities, instead of indulging in tasks pertaining to religion”.
06-Apr-2022
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will send a 'jatha' (group) of Sikh pilgrims on April 12 to participate in the congregations to be held at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Pakistan on the occasion of Baisakhi. The group will return to India on April 21. Earlier, the 'jatha' was scheduled to visit gurdwaras in Pakistan from April 11 to April 20, but the schedule was changed.
06-Apr-2022
Various Sikh organisations blocked the Bathinda-Amritsar national highway in Faridkot, seeking justice in the 2015 desecration cases and subsequent police firing incidents. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Faridkot MLA Gurdit Singh Sekhon and former Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu also joined the protesters to express solidarity.
06-Apr-2022
Punjab police registered a case against Pakistan-based chief of the banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) Lakhbir Singh Rode for allegedly smuggling arms and ammunition in the border areas of Amritsar district by using drones in the recent days to “attempt a big terror activity” in the state. State special operation cell (SSOC) wing of the Punjab police registered the case against Rode, who is also the chief of International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), on April 6, but the first information report (FIR) was available on April 10. The case has been registered under Sections 25 of the Arms Act, Sections 3, 4, 5 of the Explosive Substance (Amendment) Act, Sections 120, 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Sections 13, 18, 18-A, 18-B and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in Amritsar on the complaint of SSOC’s Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Harvinder Pal Singh. According to the FIR, the DSP received a tip-off that Rode, who is wanted in various criminal cases in Punjab, has been active in various anti-national activities and in contact with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and other separatist organisations. “With the help of the ISI and other separatist organisations, Rode has been sending contrabands of arms and ammunition in Punjab to attempt a big terror activity. He has been working, with the help of criminals and gangsters, to destabilise the peaceful atmosphere by targeting social and religious leaders,” it said.
05-Apr-2022
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann directed police chief V K Bhawra to set up a task force to wipe out gangster networks across the state. The Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) will be headed by a police officer of Additional Director-General rank. According to an official release, the CM assured the police force of all requisite manpower, latest equipment and information technology, besides adequate funds "to break the unholy nexus which has already spread its wings in the drug trade and Kabaddi world". Mann said the AGTF would have integrated collection of intelligence, manning and execution of operations, registrations of FIRs, investigation and prosecution on the lines of similar specialized units in the country.
05-Apr-2022
The District and Sessions Court has sentenced a drug peddler to 10 years of imprisonment while his associate got one-year jail in a case of possessing 26 intoxicating pills in Moga district.
04-Apr-2022
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued orders for blocking 22 news channels on YouTube, three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account and one news website. The order alleged that the YouTube channels, with a cumulative viewership of over 260 crore, were being used to spread fake news and disinformation on India’s national security, foreign relations and public order. Of the total 22 YouTube channels, 18 are Indian and four are from Pakistan. “This is the first time action has been taken on the Indian YouTube based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021, in February last year,” the order stated.
04-Apr-2022
The Border Security Force (BSF) chased and fired at a group of smugglers and recovered over 2 kg of contraband, suspected to be heroin, from them, during their search operation in Ferozepur.
04-Apr-2022
Former Union Minister and currently MP of Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal demanded the release of all Sikh prisoners incarcerated across Indian jails beyond the completion of jail terms. Harsimrat Kaur, raising issue in Parliament, said following the 1984 “attack on Sri Harmandir Sahib by the Congress Government, several Sikhs were swayed and took the law in their own hands.” She said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had been seeking the release of the detainees after the completion of their sentences but many continued to be in prisons even after 25 years.
04-Apr-2022
The President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed grave concern over the racially motivated attacks on Sikhs in the United States (US) and called on the Gurdwara Committees and Sikh leaders to speak out against the practice.
04-Apr-2022
A local court in Chandigarh sentenced two Ferozepur residents to 10 years in jail for possessing heroin. The duo, Saraj alias Babu (30) and Arjun alias Ajju (22), hailing from Khalchia Qadeen village, Ferozepur in Punjab, were caught with 304 gm heroin in Chandigarh in 2017.
03-Apr-2022
Police arrested 10 drug peddlers in separate cases in Abohar in Fazilka district. In the first case, 89 kg of poppy husk was seized from truck driver Budh Ram and helper Vikas. Brij Bhushan was arrested with 9.8 kg ganja, 1.5 kg opium was seized from Manish and Sanjay, 250 gm opium from Rakesh, 140 gm opium from Sunil and 100 gm opium was seized from Suresh and Amar. Ajay was held with 200 pills.
02-Apr-2022
Sikh scholars at the Kendri Singh Sabha urged the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to take up the job of reproducing standardized copies of Guru Granth Sahib in its own hands and debarred all printing and publishing companies from doing so and stop commercialization of Gurbani through PTC channel.
01-Apr-2022
The Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) issued a notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) over the regular bail petition filed by an accused, Dharminder Singh Dhanna, for his alleged involvement in a narco-terror case. The petitioner has been accused in a case registered by the NIA in New Delhi in 2020, under sections 13 and 17 of the UAPA Act, NDPS Act. According to NIA, Dharminder used to receive heroin, which was smuggled from Pakistan, from Jajbir Singh and would then sell it to local traffickers.
01-Apr-2022
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami said that the incident of allegedly stopping an Amritdhari Sikh youth from entering a metro station in Delhi with his kirpan is in violation of the Constitution of the country. Seeking strict action into the matter during a press conference, he added that there are frequent incidents of hurting the religious sentiments of Sikhs but unfortunately the governments are not taking exemplary action against the accused.
01-Apr-2022
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann claimed in the Assembly that 'Chitta' is made in Punjab itself and those responsible for this will be busted soon. According to data from the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, 836 out of one lakh people in Punjab are drug addicts. This figure is much higher than the national average of 250 addicts per one lakh people. The death toll due to drugs or its disease in the state has been recorded at 112 per month, while 1344 youth die every year due to this.
02-Mar-2022
Police arrested five drug peddlers and seized 55-kg poppy husk and 600 intoxicating pills from them in Abohar in Fazilka district.
01-Mar-2022
The Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the states of Punjab and Haryana, along with the Union Territory of Chandigarh, to file status reports on the disposal of case properties in drug matters under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The direction came after Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Sandeep Moudgil issued notice to Haryana Advocate-General and UT Senior Standing Counsel for May third week. The case revolves around the disposal of contraband in a timely manner as per the directions already issued by the Supreme Court (SC)/ Government of India.
01-Mar-2022
The Crime Investigation Agency arrested a person, identified as Ravinder Singh (23) and recovered 1.57 kg heroin worth Rs 7.87 crore from his possession in Ferozepur district. Two of his accomplices, Shiva and Anmol, were on the run.
01-Mar-2022
A study conducted by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGI), Chandigarh, revealed that every seventh person in Punjab is consuming one or the other kind of drug, which makes up 15.4% of the population in Punjab. The study was done by the Department of community medicine of PGI.
28-Feb-2022
To mark the 1921 Nankana Sahib massacre, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) organised a ‘gurmat samagam’ at Shaheed Sikh Missionary College in Amritsar.