Banned Sikh Group's Leader Booked for Khalistan Flags at Himachal Assembly

Hours after Khalistan flags were put up at the gates of the state Assembly complex in Dharamshala, the Himachal Pradesh Police on Monday, 9 May, booked Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a leader of the banned group Sikhs for Justice, under anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the incident.

(Photo: PTI)

Hours after Khalistan flags were put up at the gate and boundary wall of the state Assembly complex in Dharamshala, the Himachal Pradesh Police on Monday, 9 May, booked Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a leader of the banned group Sikhs for Justice, under anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the incident.

Pannun has been booked as the main accused under Section 13 of the UAPA and Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) and 153 B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the HP Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1985, DGP Sanjay Kundu said in a press release.

Sikhs for Justice is a US-based secessionist group banned in India in 2019. Pannun serves as the general counsel of SFJ.

DGP Kundu stated that the police forces have been put on high alert in view of the incident and the upcoming Khalistani Referendum in Himachal on 6 June. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted by the police chief to probe the matter expeditiously.

"Keeping in view the incidents of Khalistani elements in neighbouring states and also incident of tying a Khalistani banner took place in Una district on 11 April, and recent incident of hoisting banners and graffiti of Khalistan on the outer boundary of Vidhan Sabha in Dharamshala as well as the threat posed by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) regarding announcement of 6th June, 2022 as voting date for Khalistani Referendum in Himachal Pradesh, the DGP-HP has issued directions to field formations to remain on high alert from today."

DGP, Himachal Pradesh

In April, Pannu had issued a call for hoisting the Khalistan flag in Shimla, as per reports.

State Borders Sealed, Bomb Disposal Squads on High Alert

The state government had earlier ordered for all inter-state borders to be sealed and put blockades in place, soon after the flags were found at the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Dharamshala on Sunday evening.

DGP Kundu has asked district police chiefs to ensure checking of vehicles entering the state, and has directed that patrolling be heightened at possible hideouts.

Six preventive measures, including putting the Special Security Units and bomb disposal squads on high alert, have been implemented.

Further, the SIT formed to probe the case regarding the Khalistan flags has been "directed to contact with the State and Central Intelligence agencies to unearth the Inter-State and International Linkages, if any."

'Cowardly Incident': CM Jairam Thakur Asks Police To Step Up Security at Border

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Sunday said that he has ordered a probe into what he strongly condemned as a "cowardly incident," and stated that "there is a need for more security arrangements."

"I condemn the cowardly incident of raising Khalistan flags at the gate of Dharamshala Assembly complex in the night. There is only a winter session in this Assembly, so there is a need for more security arrangements here during that time," he said.

"We've spoken with the Centre regarding this and all information is being collected as to who can be behind all of this," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Noting that an SIT had been set up to investigate the case, Thakur also said, "We've taken up a new step in the state as a security measure, under this surveillance is being increased at the Himachal border so that we can stop such incidents from happening again."