KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
United States 15-Apr-2025
A bill in the California Senate, SB 509, scheduled for a hearing before the Appropriations Committee in April 2025, has sparked sharp divisions between pro-Khalistani groups and the broader Indian diaspora in the United States (US). While Khalistani advocates back the bill—designed to train police to identify and respond to "transnational repression" by foreign governments—many Indian-Americans, including Sikhs, oppose it, fearing it could unfairly stigmatize their community as foreign proxies.
India 15-Apr-2025
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann, while addressing the state assembly in Chandigarh on April 15, accused Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa of spreading baseless rumours by claiming that “50 bombs have reached Punjab.” Mann alleged that Bajwa failed to provide any evidence and was using fear-mongering for political gain. Bajwa has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for making false and misleading statements.
India 15-Apr-2025
Mumbai Police on April 15 identified Mayank Pandya as the man behind the April 13 death threat to Bollywood actor Salman Khan. Traced to a village in Waghodia of Vadodara district, Gujarat, Pandya was found to be mentally unstable. The threat, sent via WhatsApp to the Worli Transport Department, came nearly a year after shots were fired outside Khan’s Bandra residence, prompting a security upgrade.
India 15-Apr-2025
Punjab Police, on April 15, during day 46 of its "Yudh Nashian Virudh" campaign, arrested 97 drug smugglers and recovered 1.6 kg of heroin along with INR 29,790 in drug money from their possession across Punjab.
India 16-Apr-2025
Punjab Police, on April 16, during day 47 of its "Yudh Nashian Virudh" campaign, arrested 121 drug smugglers and recovered 4.7 kg of heroin, 2.6 kg of opium, and INR 1.08 lakh in drug money from their possession across Punjab.
India 16-Apr-2025
A team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on April 16 visited Jalandhar to interrogate three accused—Saidul Amin, Satish Kumar alias Kaka, and his cousin Harry—who were arrested by Punjab Police in connection with the grenade attack at the residence of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Manoranjan Kalia. The NIA team, consisting of 11 officers, questioned the trio throughout the day, focusing on national security threats, possible links to Pakistan-based handlers, and the broader terror network behind the attack.
India 16-Apr-2025
Tarsem Singh, father of jailed Khalistani-leaning Member of Parliament (MP) Amritpal Singh, stated in Chandigarh on April 16 that Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) has launched membership drives across 21 of Punjab’s 23 districts, with plans to cover the remaining areas soon. Despite Amritpal being projected as the party's chief ministerial candidate for 2027, Tarsem claimed his son never sought leadership roles, asserting that public sentiment is behind him.
India 16-Apr-2025
The Jalandhar Police on April 16 arrested an Army jawan, Sepoy Sukhcharan Singh alias Nikka alias Deepu alias Fauji, for training the accused who hurled a grenade at the residence of YouTuber Roger Sandhu in Jalandhar on the night of March 15–16, from Rajouri in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). He allegedly conducted the training online using a dummy grenade and later instructed the attacker on handling a live explosive. Pakistani gangster Shehzad Bhatti had claimed responsibility for the incident. Police investigations have connected the attack to foreign-based terror groups such as Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), both reportedly backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
India 16-Apr-2025
According to sources, Punjab Police has arrested 407 women drug smugglers since launching its anti-drug drive, "Yudh Nashian Virudh," on March 1. The highest number of arrests have been reported from Hoshiarpur district. These women were found operating across all 23 districts of Punjab, often continuing the drug trade on behalf of jailed male relatives. The crackdown has also uncovered connections between local women and Pakistan-based smugglers involved in cross-border cartels.
India 16-Apr-2025
The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of Punjab Police on April 16 arrested a cross-border drug trafficker, identified as Jobanjit Singh alias Joban, and seized 3.105 kg of heroin along with two .32 bore country-made pistols, 37 live cartridges, and two magazines from his possession in Kotli Sur Singh village, Bhikhiwind, Tarn Taran district. The heroin was smuggled from Pakistan via drones, and Joban was found to be in contact with Pakistan-based drug peddlers.
India 16-Apr-2025
The State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), in a joint operation with the Border Security Force (BSF) on April 16, arrested three individuals, including a woman, identified as Balwinder Singh, his wife Malkeet Kaur, and Balwant Singh, and seized 2 kg of heroin from their possession near Fazilka in Fazilka district.
India 16-Apr-2025
The Border Security Force (BSF) troops on April 16 recovered a packet containing three pistols, six magazines, 97 live rounds, and three fired cases near Rajatal village in Tarn Taran district.
India 16-Apr-2025
The Border Security Force (BSF), in a joint operation with Punjab Police, on April 16 recovered a packet of heroin weighing 560 grams from fields near Wan village in Patti in Tarn Taran district.
India 16-Apr-2025
The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of Punjab Police on April 16 arrested two individuals, identified as Ram and Lakhan, and seized 500 grams of heroin, a foreign-made pistol, and two live cartridges from their possession in Mohali in Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar district. The duo, cousins by relation, were operating their narcotics business under the guise of being milk suppliers. Investigations revealed they procured the heroin from Firozpur and targeted urban areas for distribution.
India 16-Apr-2025
The three students arrested in Nakodar for writing pro-Khalistan slogans and putting up related posters—identified as Jaskaran Singh, Kartik, and Tejpal—were sent to three-day police remand in Jalandhar district on April 16. Preliminary investigations suggest they were influenced by Jaskaran’s illegal migration abroad via the "dunki route" and may have acted under the guidance of his foreign contacts. Police are examining their bank accounts and mobile phones for evidence of suspicious funding and overseas links.
India 16-Apr-2025
The Nakodar City police on April 16 arrested two more agents of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, identified as Himanshu Gill alias Himansho and Abdul Rajak Butt alias Yaak, in Jalandhar district. According to police, the duo had pasted pro-Khalistan posters near National College Nakodar and State Public School on February 13, and wrote pro-Khalistan and anti-Modi slogans on a highway bridge on February 28.
India 16-Apr-2025
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), during its executive body meeting in Amritsar on April 16, urged Sikh intellectuals, organisations, and individuals to submit suggestions regarding service rules for Takht jathedars by April 20. The SGPC also criticised the Central government for delaying decisions on the cases of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana and other Bandi Sikhs, calling the approach discriminatory.
India 16-Apr-2025
The Punjab government on April 16 ordered the installation of over INR 15 crore worth of posters, flex boards, and wall paintings across 13,000 villages as part of its “Yudh Nasheyan Virudh” anti-drug campaign. Each village was instructed to display 1,000 posters, two flex boards, and four wall paintings within two days, with expenses drawn from panchayat funds. Critics, including retired professors from Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), slammed the initiative as theatrical, outdated, and wasteful in a digitally connected era. Officials defended the move, stating it utilized pre-approved election publicity rates to avoid tendering delays.
Canada 17-Apr-2025
On April 17, 21-year-old Harsimrat Randhawa, a student from Tarn Taran, Punjab, was tragically killed after being struck by a stray bullet during a shooting incident in Hamilton, Canada. The Indian consulate in Toronto expressed condolences and assured support to her family.
United States 17-Apr-2025
The United States (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on April 17 announced the arrest of Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia in Sacramento, California, describing him as a Khalistani terrorist suspected of collaborating with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). Indian authorities have initiated the extradition process, calling his arrest a major breakthrough against ISI-backed terror networks.