KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
India 02-Jun-2018
The BSF and the Punjab Police carried out a joint operation in which a drug smuggler, Jiwan Singh, resident of Gajni wala village in Ferozepur District, Punjab was arrested and 12.7 Kg of heroin worth INR 65 crore was recovered from nearby India-Pakistan border in the Abohar Sector in Fazilka District in Punjab. Jiwan Singh was involved in cross-border drug peddling and had connection with smugglers in Pakistan. A cellular phone with Pakistani SIM card was also recovered from Jiwan Singh.
India 02-Jun-2018
The Punjab Police on June 2 arrested two Sikh radicals, Dharminder Singh aka Commando Singh and Kirpal Singh from Batala Tehsil, Gurdaspur District in Punjab. Both, Dharminder Singh and Kirpal Singh were planning to create unrest in Punjab ahead of 34th anniversary of the 1984 Operation Blue Star on June 6. Reportedly, Dharminder Singh has been serving in the Territorial Army—105 TA Rajputana Rifles in New Delhi. The Police has recovered a .30 calibre revolver, a .30 calibre pistol, stencils of ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ slogans, posters of the Sikh referendum 2020, and some spray paint bottles from Dharminder Singh’s possession, said IG (Border Range- Amritsar) S.P.S Parmar, and SSP of Batala—Opinderjit Singh Ghumman. Acting on specific information, a Police team arrested Dharminder Singh from his residence in Harpura Village, Batala Tehsil, Gurdaspur District in Punjab. Later, Kirpal Singh was arrested from his village upon confession of Dharminder Singh. In their confession, the accused revealed that they were radicalised and were being funded by their foreign-based Khalistani handlers, including Gurpatwant Singh Pannun who is a legal adviser of the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) organisation, Paramjit Singh Pamma from United Kingdom (UK), Mann Singh from UK, and Deep Kaur from Malaysia, to promote the propaganda of ‘Liberation of Punjab’—funded by Pakistan’s ISI, said IG Parmar and SSP Ghumman during a press conference. A case under Sections 307, 438, 427, 148, 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at the Ranger Nangal Police Station.
India 10-Jun-2018
The Member of Parliament (MP) from Ludhiana Constituency—Ravneet Bittu received a threat on his twitter handle, from Sikh radicals during an event - ‘Referendum 2020 Khalistan’ organised in California State, US. Ravneet Bittu is trying to label US and Canada based campaigners as terrorists. Bittu’s attempts to thwart the legal process will be answered with equal force, read the tweet posted by the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). Punjab’s Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s twitter handle was also ‘tagged’ in the tweet. I have brought it to the notice of the concerned authorities, said Bittu.
India 11-Jun-2018
Punjab Police officers investigating the alleged role of the British citizen—Jagtar Singh Johal for his involvement in the death of RSS activist Ravinder Gosain, received death threats targeting them and their family members. Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested in November 2017, a fortnight after his wedding, for the murder of RSS member Ravinder Gosain in Ludhiana District, Punjab. The arrest of Johal had become a rallying point for Sikh groups based in the UK, during the visit of Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to UK in April 2018, several members of the Sikh community protested at Parliament Square against the arrest, said an unnamed senior government official. The British PM Theresa May raised the arrest of Johal with PM Modi.
Canada 23-Jun-2018
Paying the tribute to the 329 victims of 1985 Air India bombing Kanishka Flight 182, the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau marked it as the ‘single worst terrorist attack’ in Canada’s history. “The Air India bombing remains the single worst terrorist attack in Canada’s history. This horrific act of malice and destruction left families and friends grieving the loss of loved ones, and brought pain that will never completely go away,” said PM Trudeau. “Canada condemns all forms of terrorism. We stand in solidarity with our allies, and the international community in the ongoing fight to prevent radicalisation and fight terrorism at home and abroad. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I extend my condolences to everyone everywhere who has lost loved ones to terrorism. We also thank and honour those who work each day to keep our citizens, communities, and country safe,” said PM Trudeau. The British Columbia Supreme Court judge and a public inquiry later found that the bombings were carried out by the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI)—a Sikh terrorist outfit, headed by former Burnaby mill worker Talwinder Singh Parmar. Air India Flight 182, bound for London after picking up passengers in Toronto and Montreal, vanished from the radar off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985. A bomb planted on the plane exploded on board, killing all 329 persons on board, including 280 Canadians.