The NIA on Wednesday filed its charge-sheet against 16 foreign nationals accused of launching a “concerted secessionist campaign” for the creation of Khalistan under the banner of the Referendum 2020 movement.
The 16 persons named include who had been designated as “terrorists” under the Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act (UAPA). The NIA has charged the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (120B, 124A, 153A, 153B and 505) and sections 13, 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
The charge-sheeted accused are i) Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, r/o New York, USA; ii) Avtar Singh Pannun, r/o New York, USA; iii) Gurpreet Singh Baagi r/o UK; iv) Harpreet Singh @ Rana Singh r/o New York, USA; v) Paramjit Singh @ Pamma, r/o UK; vi) Sarabjit Singh Bannur, r/o UK; vii) Amardeep Singh Purewal @Amardeep Singh Khalsa, r/o California, USA; viii) J S Dhaliwal, r/o Canada; ix) Kulwant Singh Mothada r/o UK, x) Dupinderjit Singh, r/o UK; xi) Hardeep Singh Nijjar, r/oCanada; xii) Kulwant Singh @ Kanta @Mann Singh Khalsa, r/o UK; xiii) Harjaap Singh @Japhi Singh, r/o California, USA; xiv) Sarabjit Singh @Sabi Singh, r/o California, USA; xv) Jatinder Singh Grewal, r/o Canada; and xvi) S Himmat Singh, r/o New York, USA. The above individuals are members of Sikh for Justice, an organization declared as ‘Unlawful Association’ under UA(P) Act.
According to the NIA, the investigation into the case revealed that “Sikhs for Justice”, a secessionist outfit floated in the garb of a “Human Rights advocacy group” with its offices in various foreign countries like the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia serving as a frontal organization of Khalistan terrorist outfits operating from foreign soils including Pakistan. Under this campaign, numerous social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, YouTube, and a number of websites have been launched, which are being used to propagate sedition as well as enmity on the grounds of region and religion, to “radicalise impressionable youth to cause disturbance to peace and harmony and to raise funds for terrorist activities”.
“SFJ has been attempting to undermine the security of the Indian State by instigating Sikh personnel in the Indian army to rise up in mutiny against India. SFJ is also trying to radicalize youth of Kashmir and openly extending support for the secession of Kashmir from India,” the NIA said.
Based on the dossiers provided by NIA and other agencies, the chief patrons of SFJ, namely Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Paramjit Singh Pamma, have already been designated as terrorists under the UAPA. During the course of the investigation, NIA identified immovable properties belonging to Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in Amritsar district and Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Jalandhar district. Based on the NIA’s request, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in exercise of powers conferred under Section 51-A of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, has ordered attachment of these properties.
Further investigation in the case is continuing.
With inputs from Namrata Biji Ahuja
