KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
03-May-2001
Police unearthed an illegal arms factory, 100 yards away from a police station, at Mohali. The factory was reportedly operating clandestinely for the past 12 years.
02-May-2001
Five Babbar Khalsa terrorists were arrested in Nabepur village, Gurdaspur District. A large number of sophisticated arms, including AKs and explosives, including RDX and PETN, was recovered from them.
25-Apr-2001
Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recovered 17.59kg of heroin in Pathankot and arrested two persons in this connection.
21-Apr-2001
AISSF President, Manjit Singh Bhoma demanded that Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal should announce a general amnesty for all those terrorists who had migrated to western countries during the decade-long terrorism in the State. He said these terrorists should be allotted Siromani Akali Dal (SAD) (Badal) tickets in the ensuing State Legislative Assembly elections so that they could raise their genuine demands in the State Assembly in a democratic way, instead of taking up the gun culture.
20-Apr-2001
The Punjab government is reportedly apprehensive about a possible resurgence of terrorist violence by a section of terrorists, who did not like the way the KCF chief returned to India and offered himself for arrest. Security officials also speculate that the ISI, to aid these disgruntled terrorists, may involve non-Sikhs in engineering violent strikes.
20-Apr-2001
The arrested chief KCF, Wassan Singh Zaffarwal, has reportedly said that during his exile in Pakistan, he and scores of other Punjab terrorists were puppets in the hands of Pakistan's ISI. Speaking to newsmen at Baba Bakala in Amritsar, he revealed that they were under the complete control of Pakistani bosses who would tell them to write letters and issue directions to terrorists operating in the field (Indian Punjab). He added that their operations were mainly funded through sources in Europe and North America which were routed through traders based in Lahore and Sialkot, Pakistan.
19-Apr-2001
According to official sources, a huge cache of arms, including two carbines, a Thomson machine gun, a stun gun, 12 grenades, 11 magazines, and 2,287 cartridges, were recovered from the Sirhind canal siphon near Chamkaur Sahib in Ropar district. According to Police sources, (unidentified) terrorists seemed to have thrown the weapons into the canal to evade the police.
17-Apr-2001
Union Minister of State for Home, Vidyasagar Rao, informed the Lok Sabha that Pakistan's security personnel had destroyed their end of a secret 135-yard underground tunnel, detected on March 1, 2001, across the India-Pakistan border in Punjab's Gurdaspur district.
16-Apr-2001
Intelligence sources said that the arrested KCF chief Zaffarwal faces a serious threat to his life from Pakistan's ISI. According to reports, the ISI was perturbed over his return that could virtually set a trend for others who had escaped abroad with its assistance. This could prove a psychological setback to the ISI's efforts to foment trouble in Punjab. The ISI is known to have spent a considerable amount of money and effort in propping some of these terrorist outfits and Zaffarwal's return is seen as a sort of breach of trust. Zaffarwal had enjoyed the hospitality of the ISI in Pakistan for several years before he fled to Switzerland. Moreover, Zaffarwal might throw light on the ISI network in Punjab.
15-Apr-2001
According to official sources, the interrogation of the arrested KCF chief Wassan Singh Zaffarwal has established that many more terrorists living abroad are prepared to return home if given a chance. He reportedly said the government should evolve a concrete policy to help militants return to the mainstream as they were disillusioned with the goal of Khalistan. In a dramatic volte-face, Zaffarwal said Khalistan was no more his goal, and added, Punjab, as a part of India, “is our homeland".
14-Apr-2001
A KCF terrorist, Rachpal Singh Lalli surrendered in Jagraon. His surrender came close on the heels of the arrest of KCF chief Wassan Singh Zaffarwal. Rachpal Singh had fled to Philippines after being declared a proclaimed offender in 1991.
13-Apr-2001
According to official sources, the Punjab government decided to grant special remission of sentences to prisoners convicted under the TADA of 1987. This one-time measure has been announced by the Governor, on the occasion of the bicentennial celebrations of the coronation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
12-Apr-2001
The KCF chief, Wassan Singh Zaffarwal was remanded to police custody till April 20, by Judicial Magistrate in Amritsar. A senior police official claimed that Zaffarwal's arrest was a big achievement of the police. Zaffarwal had managed to enter Punjab on a fake passport in the name of Charanjit Singh and had arrived at the local Rajasansi Airport on March 9.
11-Apr-2001
Majitha Police arrested chief of the KCF, Wassan Singh Zaffarwal.
09-Apr-2001
The president of the Akali Dal (Amritsar), Simranjit Singh Mann, in Jalandhar, alleged that senior Punjab political leaders belonging to different parties had well-established links with terrorists. He also criticized the KCF chief, Wassan Singh Zaffarwal's reported move to surrender.
05-Apr-2001
Punjab Chief Minister, Prakash Singh Badal, addressing a press conference, in Chandigarh, said that the government was ready to open its door to militants willing to surrender. The Chief Minister stated this in reply to a question on reports in the press regarding the surrender proposals of the Chief of the KCF, Wassan Singh Zaffarwal, who is believed to have arrived from Switzerland.
04-Apr-2001
Punjab Police sources said, a Kashmiri terrorist arrested earlier in Gurdaspur, on April 1, has confessed to links with a police officer and a local politician. The arrested terrorist, a former student of Jammu University, also disclosed that a hotel room in the Gurdaspur used as a control room by Pakistan’s ISI. As reported earlier, four Kashmiri terrorists associated with the BKI were arrested from Harchuwala in Gurdaspur, where they were planning an attack during the Ramnavami, a Hindu religious event, celebrations of April 2 in Batala town.
04-Apr-2001
Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal said that, "No one has approached me concerning the surrender of Wassan Singh Zaffarwal. I am not aware of anything in this connection. I have just read in the newspapers that Zaffarwal wanted to surrender". It was reported that Wassan Singh Zaffarwal, Chief of the KCF (Zaffarwal), who was staying in Switzerland until recently, has come to India intending to surrender before the Punjab police.
02-Apr-2001
Police arrested four BKI terrorists along with three kilograms of RDX and some arms and ammunition from Harchowal village in the Batala District.
23-Mar-2001
Punjab Police arrested a KCF (Zaffarwal) terrorist, a proclaimed offender evading arrest since October 1990, for his involvement in a terrorist case. According to the Police, a case had been registered against the terrorist under various sections of IPC, Arms Act and TADA, in October 1990.
10-Mar-2001
Bhatinda Police arrested a notorious criminal with terrorist connections and recovered a Chinese pistol and live cartridges from his possession. According to police sources, the arrested person had frequently crossed over to Pakistan to ferry arms and drugs for terrorists in Punjab.
02-Feb-2001
The Punjab police busted a narco-terrorist network operating from Jammu and Kashmir. According to official sources in Gurdaspur, Punjab, one person was arrested from village Banni Lodhi, bordering Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of narcotics, arms, and ammunition from Pakistan. The sources said that the arrested had developed a clandestine alliance with Pakistan-based Khalistani terrorist leaders Wadhwa Singh Babbar and Parmjit Singh Panjwar.
03-Jan-2001
Intelligence sources indicate that an activist of the BKI reportedly being a ‘human bomb’ armed with RDX and plastic explosives, is present in Delhi and aims to create disturbance during the January 26, Republic Day celebrations.
07-Nov-2000
Punjab Police arrested four persons, including two BKI activists, and recovered a large number of arms, ammunition, fake currency and heroin from them. The arrested persons are believed to be planning to perpetrate mass killings.
15-Oct-2000
Delhi Police arrested four persons and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from a city market in Azadpur. Police said that the cache was smuggled into India from Pakistan through the Western border and was being routed through the capital for final delivery at Jalandhar in Punjab. It is suspected that this cache, which includes small and automatic guns, ammunition, explosives, and other equipment, was to be used by the Babbar Khalsa group. Police have attributed this to Pakistan's efforts to revive the dormant terrorist movement in Punjab by some Khalistani outfits.
26-Jul-2000
A top smuggler, suspected to be an important member of the narco-terrorism network backed by Pakistan’s ISI was arrested in Jalandhar District. He is suspected to have earlier aided the escape of a top KCF leader, Rattandeep Singh, involved in a Chandigarh bomb blast, from India to Pakistan on July 12, 1999.
14-May-2000
Union Home Minister L. K. Advani said that the government was 'actively considering' releasing Punjab terrorists, now in prison but were not facing any serious charges for their pro-Khalistan views during militancy in Punjab. With militancy having ended in Punjab, the cases of those detained could be reviewed, Advani said.
07-May-2000
Kapurthala Police arrested four terrorists belonging to the KCF (Panjwar) group and recovered nine kg of RDX from them.
31-Mar-2000
According to Police and intelligence sources, efforts are on by some Khalistani militant outfits based in Pakistan, Germany the USA and Belgium to re-establish their contacts in India. The sources feel that the outfits, which include the Babbar Khalsa, the KCF and other militant outfits, are compelled to show some kind of activities in India to their sponsors, including the ISI of Pakistan, to sustain their funds and donations.
28-Mar-2000
Police arrested a KCF (Zaffarwal) terrorist, Raj Pal Singh along with a revolver and some ammunition from Gurdaspur in Punjab. Singh had been active from 1991 to 1994 and had made several trips to Pakistan to bring consignments of arms and ammunition. He was arrested while returning from Jammu after meeting his associates and other Jammu-based terrorists.
25-Mar-2000
Police claim to have solved the mystery surrounding a series of train and bus blasts in Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi with the arrest of three militants of the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF).
14-Mar-2000
Two KCF terrorists, alleged to be working for Pakistan’s ISI, were arrested in Gurdaspur along with a revolver, explosives and trigger mechanisms. Official sources said that the two were on a mission to trigger explosions in buses and trains.
28-May-1999
A blast occurred between Rajpura and Shambu railway stations, resulting in the blowing up of a three-foot section of railway track.
16-Apr-1999
There was a bomb blast at the lower parapet of the outer wall of the telephone exchange in Katra Sher Singh, Amritsar.
30-Mar-1999
An explosion occurred in close proximity to the post office and telephone exchange in Sirhind.
25-Feb-1999
A bag containing RDX material was discovered near the bridge connecting Rajpura and Ambala railway stations.
12-Feb-1999
A bomb was recovered from the ventilator of a room at Laxmi Narain Ayurvedic College, located near Lohgarh Gate in Amritsar.
22-Jan-1999
An explosive device was planted at the park in Gobindgarh Bus Stand, located in Fatehgarh Sahib district.
18-Oct-1998
A bomb was found in an unreserved second-class compartment of Jan Sewa Express at Sirhind Railway Station in Fatehgarh Sahib.
08-Aug-1998
There was an explosion near the State Bank of India on Ramtirath Road, close to the containment area in Amritsar.
20-May-1998
SGPC decided to withdraw kar-sewa being done by various saints in Golden Temple complex. They removed doors and partition in the parikrama rooms and requested the Singh Sahiban not to interfere in its work.
16-May-1998
At least 17 persons were killed and 30 others injured in a shootout at Samana in Patiala district.
30-Apr-1998
The protest called by the Punjab Human Rights Organization which was supported by SAD (L) and SAD (T) against the alleged harassment of women by the security forces evokes little response in the State.
09-Jul-1997
Three individuals lost their lives in a shootout, and two others sustained injuries during an explosion that took place in a temple in Bagha Purana, Moga.
08-Jul-1997
35 persons were killed and 66 others injured in a bomb blast on train at Lehra Khana Railway Station in Bathinda district. Later, Police arrested six Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) terrorists in this connection.
06-Jun-1997
Seven persons were killed and 14 others injured in an explosion occurred near a warehouse in a private bus in Pathankot, Gurdaspur district.
06-Apr-1997
Four people, including an army jawan, were killed and 14 others sustained injuries in an explosion that occurred in a J&K transport bus at Kathwala Bridge in Pathankot, Gurdaspur district.
14-Mar-1997
Seven persons were killed and 13 others, including one BSF jawan were injured in an explosion occurred outside the railway station in Jalandhar.
15-Jan-1997
An explosion took place at the Railway Police Station in Ludhiana, resulting in no loss of life.
11-Dec-1996
An explosion occurred at Naulakha Cinema in Ludhiana. However, no casualties have been reported.