KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
Canada 01-Aug-2023
An anti-India poster was discovered on August 1 outside the housing building of the Indian Consulate in Vancouver, Canada. The posters featured the word "Wanted" under photographs, naming India's top diplomats in Canada, including the High Commissioner to Ottawa, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Verma, and the Consul Generals in Vancouver and Toronto, Mr. Manish and Mr. Siddhartha Nath, respectively. India has complained to Canadian authorities over the security lapse that led to the anti-India poster being placed on the building.
India 01-Aug-2023
On August 1, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara, linked to the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Beant Singh, appeared in a district court through video conferencing for a trial related to his alleged escape from the Model Burail jail in Chandigarh. The court scheduled the next hearing for August 11. Hawara is currently held in Delhi's Tihar Jail.
Canada 01-Aug-2023
A couple from Punjab, Rajvinder Kaur and Randhir Singh, based in Montreal, Canada who claimed to be at risk due to alleged links to the Khalistan movement, were denied refugee status by the Canadian authorities. Their lawyer stated that their only hope now lies in intervention from Canada's immigration minister, Marc Miller. Similar cases involving potential deportation from India and claims related to Khalistan have been seen in the past, with a significant number of such refugee claims not being accepted. In the first quarter of 2023, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada accepted 833 claims and rejected 722, continuing the trend of higher rejection numbers in recent years.
India 01-Aug-2023
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on August 1 conducted raids at 31 locations in Punjab and Haryana to uncover the conspiracy behind the attack on the Indian High Commission in London on March 19 and seized incriminating digital data, documents, and other evidence. The attack occurred during a pro-Khalistan protest where around 50 individuals committed trespass, injured officials, and damaged public property. The NIA's searches targeted an office of United Kingdom (UK) based NGO Khalsa Aid and the residence of its Managing Director (MD), Amarpreet Singh, in Patiala, Punjab and the residence of Paramjit Singh Pamma, a wanted Khalistan Terrorist Force (KTF) militant, in Mohali, Punjab.
India 01-Aug-2023
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court on August 1 declared six gangster-turned-terrorists, identified as Canada-based Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala, Ramandeep Singh alias Raman Judge, Lakhbir Sandhu alias Landa, and Pakistan-based Harvinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda, Lakhbir Rode and Wadhawa Babbar as Proclaimed Offenders (PO). The NIA had on July 22 filed a chargesheet against nine accused, including Dala, Landa and Rinda, in a case registered by the agency on August 20, 2022. According to the NIA, they were involved in a criminal conspiracy to smuggle arms and ammunition across international borders to support terrorist acts in India, linked to pro-Khalistan organizations such as Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). The accused were engaged in smuggling arms, explosives, IEDs, drugs, and other contraband into India with the support of terror outfits and organized criminal gangs.
India 01-Aug-2023
Senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, on August 1 filed an application seeking anticipatory bail in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots at Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi.
India 01-Aug-2023
Gangster Sachin Bishnoi, involved in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, was extradited on August 1 from Baku, Azerbaijan to New Delhi, India, and produced in Delhi’s Patiala House court, which remanded him in police custody for ten days. He is the cousin of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, another suspect in Moosewala's murder. His arrest is part of a series of arrests breaking the backbone of foreign-based criminal networks in Punjab.
India 01-Aug-2023
The Union Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs, Nisith Pramanik in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on August 1 stated that anti-national elements and smugglers are using drones to smuggle arms and narcotics across the India-Pakistan border in Punjab and in the last three years till June 30, 2023, 53 such incidents have been detected. According to him, the government has taken various measures, including increased border surveillance by the Border Security Force (BSF), laying of nakas in suspected dropping zones, and sensitizing the public in border areas to report any drone activities to the authorities. The Home Ministry has also established an Anti-Rogue Drone Technology Committee (ARDTC) to counter rogue drones effectively.
India 01-Aug-2023
Rupnagar Police on August 1 arrested six persons and seized 2,000 litres of 'lahan' (raw liquor), 322 grams of heroin, and INR 7,600 in drug money, in Rupnagar district of Punjab.
United Kingdom 02-Aug-2023
The Sikh Federation in United Kingdom (UK) on August 2 accused the Indian investigation agency National Investigation Agency (NIA) of intimidating and targeting relatives of prominent pro-Khalistan leaders living abroad, including British Sikhs after the NIA raided homes of Khalistani leaders linked to Khalsa Aid, Federation of Sikh Organisations (FSO ) and Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) among others, in an attempt to uncover the conspiracy behind the attack on the Indian High Commission in London, UK.
India 02-Aug-2023
Punjab Police on August 2 sought information on the whereabouts of Sukhpal Singh, who went missing 29 years ago in Fatehgarh Churian in Gurdaspur district, amid allegations from his family that he was killed in a fake encounter by the suspended Punjab Police Inspector General (IG), Parmraj Singh Umranangal. Sukhpal Singh's wife claims that Umranangal killed him and falsely presented his body as that of a wanted militant, Gurnam Singh Bandala, who is still alive. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing the case, and Umranangal has been questioned in connection with the alleged disappearance.
Canada 02-Aug-2023
Public Safety Canada on August 2 assured that law enforcement in Ottawa is investigating a video that appears to threaten Indian diplomats in Canada and will ensure the safety of all diplomats in Canada. Tensions between Canada and India have arisen over issues related to Khalistani separatists who made and distributed posters online and offline, accusing Indian diplomats of being "killers," and a parade float depicting the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister (PM) Indira Gandhi.
India 02-Aug-2023
According to senior officials, security agencies are concerned about the ‘reverse drone’ operations by smugglers at the India-Pakistan border, especially the Punjab region. Some senior officials said that the forensic analysis of downed drones revealed that some originated from the Indian side, particularly in Punjab, indicating a trend that could increase. Smugglers dispatch drones from India to Pakistan, where they are loaded with drugs and weapons before being called back to India, avoiding the risk of getting caught while dropping items in Indian territory. Anti-drone systems have been installed at the border to address the issue.
India 02-Aug-2023
Police on August 2 arrested two persons, identified as Sahil Bhatia and Taranjeet Singh, and seized 153 kg of poppy husk and a mini truck from them, in Kandrodi Morr Nangal village in Pathankot district of Punjab. According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harkamal Preet Singh, two notorious gangsters, Preet Sekhon and Sonu Roadmajra, were assisting the smugglers with logistical support. The authorities are currently investigating their connections in the matter.
India 02-Aug-2023
Punjab Police on August 2 conducted a statewide search operation in all 26 prisons in Punjab, called "Operation Satark," to prevent the entry of narcotics, cell phones, and prohibited items into the jails. According to Special Director General of Police (DGP-Law and Order) Arpit Shukla, Police, during the operation, recovered 21 mobile phones, SIM cards, chargers, knives, nails, and 8.7 grams of opium.
India 02-Aug-2023
Punjab Health Minister Dr. Balbir Singh on August 2 directed officials to identify and act against errant officials in the prisons department to tackle the drug menace in jails.
India 02-Aug-2023
The Police on August 2 arrested a smuggler, identified as Gurlal Singh and seized 1kg heroin and a 30 bore China-made pistol with five rounds of ammunition from his possession in Manawala village in Amritsar district. The accused had shot at a police team during a checkpoint operation in Sukhewal village in Nabha tehsil of Patiala district in Punjab and fled towards Amritsar. He was finally nabbed near Manawala village, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP-rural) Satinder Singh.
India 03-Aug-2023
The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) of Punjab Police on August 3 arrested Harjeet Singh, an Indian national based in Spain, on charges of terror financing and facilitating target killings in Punjab, at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi. His associate, identified as Amrinder Singh alias Bunty, was also arrested in Khanna, in Ludhiana district of Punjab. Harjeet funded and assisted Bunty in carrying out the target killings, and investigations revealed their connection with foreign entities linked to Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), according to Additional Inspector General (AIG) SSOC, Mohali, Ashwani Kapur. Harjeet also used fake Facebook accounts to promote radical content and activities of banned separatist group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ).
India 03-Aug-2023
Immigration officials at the Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport in Amritsar, Punjab on August 3 detained Tanmanjit Singh Dhesi, a Sikh Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom (UK), due to the lack of necessary travel documents before eventually releasing him after two hours. Dhesi is known for being the first Sikh MP to wear a turban in Britain and has been in the headlines in Punjab politics, with controversies surrounding his alleged support for Khalistan and criticism of the Indian government's actions in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
India 03-Aug-2023
Sikh organizations, Panth Sewak and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on August 3 strongly criticized the Narendra Modi government, in the wake of a raid conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Khalsa Aid, claiming it is an attempt to target those actively working for the betterment of the Panth.