KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
The Delhi Police on Saturday busted a module of Sikh separatist group Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and arrested its three sympathisers who were allegedly planning to execute target killings and extortions in various north Indian states on the directions of Pakistan’s ISI-sponsored Khalistani leaders.
Deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said at least four persons were on the target list of the arrested men but they could not execute the killings because of the lockdown announced in the country to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“The three had already procured arms and ammunition to execute the killings on the directions of their handlers who are Khalistani militants living abroad and sponsored by the Pak spy agency ISI. The lockdown had also foiled their plan to cross over to Pakistan for terrorist training,” said DCP Yadav.
The three men, identified as Mohinder Pal Singh, 29, Gurtej Singh, 41, and Lovepreet Singh, 21, were arrested from Delhi, Punjab and Haryana in separate operations by the city police’s anti-terror squad, special cell, in the last 10 days. Police said three pistols and seven cartridges were seized from them. Three smartphones, including an iPhone, containing many incriminating videos and photographs related to Khalistani movement and their propagators were also seized, the police said.
Yadav said that Gurtej, the son of a subedar in the Indian Army, was in touch with an ISI handler, Abdullah, apart from having contacts with Avtar Singh Pannu of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a pro-Khalistan group banned by the Indian government, and Gopal Singh Chawla, who is based in Pakistan and is a close aide of Hafiz Saeed, co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
“Abdullah had asked Gurtej to recruits like-minded people and send them to Pakistan for terrorist training. Gurtej recruited five men, including Lovepreet, who has been arrested along with him. He was also planning to extort Rs 10 lakh from two businessmen for arranging more weapons and logistics,” the DCP said.