In a major dent in Khalistani operations, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a wanted terrorist and top leader of the Khalistani Tiger Force (KTF), was shot dead in Surrey, Canada.
According to the intelligence agencies officials, the local authorities have confirmed the killing by two bike-borne assailants.
In the past one month, multiple Khalistani leaders across the world, including Pakistan, have died.
- First, the arrest of Amritpal Singh by the Punjab police in Moga district on March 23. It severely hit the agenda of Khalistani groups to regenerate terror in India.
- In May, reports of the murder of 63-year-old Pakistan-based Khalistani terrorist Paramjit Singh Panjwar surfaced. He was among the top leaders of the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF). The organisation was banned in India under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2020 and Panjwar was notified as terrorist by the Government of India.
- Last week, Avtar Singh Khanda, a pro-Khalistani leader who planned an attack on the Indian Embassy, died in the UK. Sources said he was suffering from blood cancer.
ALL EYES ON PANNU
Top officials claim the infighting and deaths have caused the Khalistani terror outfits in the United Kingdom and Canada to shrink and catching Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, the legal advisor and chief of another Khalistani group ‘Sikhs for Justice’, has become the top priority for the government.
Sources said that while a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) reached the UK a few days ago, the Indian government is also handling Khalistani terror diplomatically. India has raised the issue of support for such terror groups in Canada, the UK and US. India has also demanded action against such groups.
The Central government has received information that certain entities and individuals based in India and abroad such as ‘Sikhs for Justice’ have entered into a criminal conspiracy with other terrorist organisations and gangs and have started a concerted campaign in the name of ‘Punjab Referendum 2020 for Khalistan’. They are raising funds for “secessionist and terrorist activities on ground as well as on social media with an intention to instigate the members of Sikh community to agitate for the secession of the State of Punjab from the Union of India, undermining the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of India", according to the government.
These secessionist and radical elements, including Pannu, have been “inciting disaffection through their insurrectionary, insinuating and seditious activities".
NIJJAR’s ROLE
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was born in October 1977 in Pura, Jalandhar. He was involved in petty crime and managed to leave the country and become the chief of the KTF. He was actively involved in operationalizing, networking, training and financing KTF modules and members.
Nijjar was an accused in a case registered by the NIA. During the investigation, it was revealed that he had posted incriminating statements, posts, photos and videos on social media platforms to spread “insurrectionary imputations and hateful speeches". The incriminating evidence substantiated that he was involved in “seditious activities to create disharmony among different communities in India", according to the NIA.
Nijjar is also an accused in various cases being investigated by the Punjab Police. He owns land in his native village in Bhar Singapura in Jalandhar.
Nijjar, based in Canada, was also designated as an ‘individual terrorist’ by the Ministry of Home Affairs in July 2020. He was the head/president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey.
It was on the directions of Nijjar that the SFJ got involved in the terror activities of proscribed terrorist organisations such as Khalistan Liberation Force, Babbar Khalsa International, International Sikh Youth Federation, Khalistan Tiger Force, etc, according to the NIA case. The activities include smuggling of terrorist hardware such as arms, ammunition explosive, IEDs, etc. across international borders.
The smuggled goods are for use by operatives/members of terror outfits and organised criminal gangs operating in various parts of the country for carrying out terrorist acts such as bomb explosions, targeted killings, etc.
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