Sikhs for Justice ‘sedition’: Cops to seek Interpol help
A day after a sedition case against five persons over hoardings at several places in Punjab calling for a separatist ‘Referendum 2020’, police failed to get remand of the printer from a Mohali court on Friday. Punjab Police is planning to write a letter to the foreign ministry to get an Interpol red corner notice issued to arrest three US-based accused, including New York resident Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Gurpatwant Pannun, legal advisor of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), who along with four others was booked for sedition by the Punjab police for launching the separatist ‘Referendum 2020’ campaign in the state, has dismissed the charges, saying they will only promote and legitimise the campaign. Pannun also accused the Punjab chief minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, of acting like a “toddler” and “keeping a grudge against the SFJ for filing a torture case against him in Canada”.
SFJ has sent a letter to the CM office in the civil secretariat, Chandigarh, stating, “Sedition charges will not deter us and we will continue ‘Referendum 2020’ campaign in Punjab from Sikh rights groups’ centralised office in New York.”
Pannun told HT, “I am unfazed by the sedition and other charges as they only promote and give legitimacy to the democratic campaign for Punjab Independence Referendum 2020.”
He said the cases did not matter to him. “I don't recognise the Constitution and judicial systems, and any case filed under them.”
SFJ has repeatedly targeted Punjab CM Amarinder Singh. Last year, when he was scheduled to visit Canada to woo the NRI community, SFJ had filed a case of torture against him in a Toronto court causing the Punjab leader to cancel that trip. These attacks have become more frequent since Singh won a convincing mandate in the assembly elections earlier this year.
Pannun accused the Punjab CM of acting like a “toddler” and said he was “keeping a grudge against the SFJ for filing a torture case in Canada to hold him accountable for human rights violations during his 2002-07 stint as CM, and now by forcing sedition case against me, Punjab CM is of the view that we might back down from our campaign. But as a matter of fact I am more motivated and have resolved to make sure that we take up the torture case against Capt and his police officials in international courts.”