Three Khalistani terror associates were arrested by Haryana police in Sonipat on February 19 for perpetrating targeted murders and creating an atmosphere of terror in Punjab. Sonipat comes under the National Capital Region.

According to Sonipat SP Rahul Sharma, all the three accused were in contact with terror organisations Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF).

“All the three men hail from Juan village in Sonipat and were arrested with various weapons. They were in contact with terror organisations based in Canada and Australia and were having Rs.5-6 lakh in their accounts from foreign countries,” SP Sharma told ANI.

According to the Police the accused were getting contracts of perpetrating targeted killings in Punjab through social media and already had a criminal record of murdering one Avtar Singh, a former sarpanch of Udhampur village, in Punjab’s Morinda on 8th December.

One AK-47, a pistol and several rounds of ammunition were recovered from the men. They have been identified as – Sagar aka Binny, Sunil aka Pehelwan, Jatin aka Rajesh. They used to get weapons form Mohali and Ropar in Punjab. They were in touch with terrorists like Gurjant Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Lakhbir Singh Rode and Hardeep Singh.

West, especially Anglosphere, harbors deadly Khalistani terrorists

Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF)

KTF was founded by the Canada-based Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In February 2018, Nijjar’s name was in the list of 9 ‘A’ category Canada-based terror operatives of Bharatiya origin (including members of Khalistan Tiger Force, International Sikh Youth Federation and Babbar Khalsa International) handed over to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau by Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh when the two met in Amritsar. Trudeau was informed that Canadian soil was being misused by Khalistani activists to finance terror activities in Bharat from Canada.

At the time, Nijjar had at least three terror-related cases against him in Punjab, including the 2010 Satya Narayan Temple blasts in Patiala.He was also accused of raising KTF and attacking Hindu leaders in Punjab. He was briefly taken into custody by Canadian law enforcement in mid-April of 2018, but was released within 24 hours without any charges being filed. Head of US-based Khalistani group Sikhs for Justice, Gurpatwant Pannun had represented Nijjar personally in the matter at the time.

For the last few years, Nijjar and his associate Arshdeep Singh have been recruiting gangsters to carry out murders on their behalf. Some of the people killed by KTF are: Manohar Lal, a Dera Sacha Sauda follower, in November 20, 2020; Tejinder alias Pinka, owner of Super Shine Clothes, on July 14, 2020 to terrorise the people of Moga city and extort money; their own associate Sukha Lamme on June 27, 2020. KTF’s hired killers also shot at and seriously wounded priest Kamaldeep Sharma and a girl on January 31, 2021, and attempted to kill owner of Sharma Sweets, Moga.

Before these targeted killings by KTF, there was a spree of killings of Hindu leaders and activists by the ISI-linked KLF (Khalistan Liberation Force). Italy-based terrorist Hardeep Singh was paid and indoctrinated to carry out eight incidents of murder and attempted murder in Punjab in 2016 and 2017. Some of his victims – Brig. (retd) Jagdish Gagneja (RSS leader), Ravinder Gosain (RSS swayamsevak), Amit Sharma (Sri Hindu Takht President). On October 16 2020, communist leader Balwinder Singh Sandhu, a Shaurya Chakra awardee, was shot dead by KLF terrorists.

Last month, 3 KTF terrorists were arrested in Moga – they were planning a grenade attack on a church.

International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF)

As per satp.org, International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), proscribed in Bharat under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) on March 22, 2002, was founded in the United Kingdom (UK) in 1984 after Operation Blue Star. Amrik Singh and Jasbir Singh Rode, a nephew of Jarnail Singh Bhinderanwale, founded the ISYF. The ISYF has been declared as a ‘proscribed organisation’ in the UK in 2001 and apparently disbanded in Canada in 2002, yet its operatives are carrying out targeted killings in Bharat.

Conclusion

In April 2019, the Canadian government removed all references to Khalistan and Sikh extremism in its 2018 report on terrorist threats to Canada. Expressing surprise over this decision by Canada’s Liberal Party led by PM Justin Trudeau, then Punjab CM Amarinder Singh said it was clearly aimed at protecting its political interests in a poll year on the pretext of pressure groups in the Sikh community. But the decision could have serious consequences for Indo-Canadian relations in the long run, he warned, reasoning that such a move is a threat to Bharatiya as well as global security.

The Canadian government had removed eight references to Sikh extremism and six references to Khalistan from its terror report. “Trudeau was playing with fire with his decision to assuage inflamed domestic passions through this ill-considered move,” Amarinder said. He pointed out that it was a fact that Trudeau’s party was inundated by such activists and separatists.

On July 1, 2020, the Bharatiya government declared 9 individuals as designated terrorists for attempting to revive Khalistani terrorism in Punjab: US-based founder of Sikhs for Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun; UK-based chief of terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Paramjit Singh; Canada-based chief of Khalistan Tiger Force Hardeep Singh Nijjar; Germany-based key members of terrorist organisation Khalistan Zindabad Force, Bhupinder Singh Bhinda and Gurmeet Singh Bagga; and Pakistan-based BKI terrorist group chief Wadhawa Singh Babbar; International Sikh Youth Federation chief Lakhbir Singh Rode, Khalistan Zindabad Force chief Ranjeet Singh and Khalistan Commando Force chief Paramjit Singh.

Interpol notices has been issued against most of these terrorists based in the West, but none of them has as yet been apprehended by authorities over there and deported to Bharat.