New Delhi:
New Delhi has spelt out the “seriousness” of the continuing investigation towards Professional-Khalistan separatist group “Sikhs For Justice” forward of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed go to to the US. The group’s founder, US-based lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, has 104 circumstances registered towards him throughout India.
“As many as 96 circumstances have been registered towards SFJ in Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Assam. The remaining eight are being probed by Nationwide Investigating Company,” reads a gazette printed by the federal government. It added that the Delhi Excessive Courtroom tribunal has confirmed the ban on SFJ for 5 years.
Authorities information signifies that the utmost variety of circumstances towards SFJ are registered in Punjab (55) adopted by Delhi and Haryana (13 every).
The federal government has listed a slew of subversive actions carried out by the group that embody threats to PM Modi, Union House Minister Amit Shah and NSA Ajit Doval.
“Pannun is reported to have raised substantial funds for fee of terrorist acts and killings of essential leaders, public figures and functionaries to overawe the federal government and the Indian public at massive and intends to make use of the identical for fee of terrorist acts for the final word goal of creation of Khalistan,” reveals investigation by Indian companies, an official stated.
The federal government has stated the group claims to have ready a listing of kids of law enforcement officials and politicians who’re finding out overseas. They’re for use as bargaining chips if its activists are tortured, the federal government has stated.
Pictures of Indian diplomats — together with that of Ambassador Vikram Duraiswami, former Ambassador Tranajit Singh Sandhu and several other different diplomats — have been circulated by SFJ final yr, making them susceptible.
Final month, India took up the problem of newest risk issued by SFJ to Indian ambassador Vinay Kwatra.
The Delhi Excessive Courtroom tribunal of Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta was fashioned on August 2 final yr for taking a name on whether or not there’s enough trigger to increase the declaration of SFJ as an illegal affiliation. On January 3, the tribunal confirmed the extension of the ban for an additional 5 years with impact from July 10, 2024.
The federal government has advised the tribunal that the actions of SFJ have been discovered to be in shut affiliation with different separatists, terrorists and radical parts inside the nation. It continues to help the ideology of secession, violent types of extremism and militancy in Punjab to carve out a so-called state of ‘Khalistan’ out of the territory of India, the tribunal has been advised.
“In pursuit, the SFJ has been extending threats even to constitutional functionaries like Prime Minister of India, House Minister, Exterior Affairs Minister (S Jaishankar), chief ministers of states, NSA, R&AW chief,” the federal government submitted, including that even throughout pendency of proceedings earlier than the tribunal, the SFJ focused former Indian Excessive Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma, alleging his involvement within the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
A reward of $ 5,00,000 was supplied to anybody who can monitor Mr Verma’s actions in India. The group can also be submitting baseless courtroom circumstances towards visiting Indian dignitaries overseas (Europe, Canada and USA) to defame them, the federal government advised the tribunal.