Two men radicalised to carry out hate crimes in Punjab arrested
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested two young men who were allegedly radicalised and funded by their foreignbased handlers, including SFJ legal adviser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, to carry out hate crimes in the state. Another person has been arrested for allegedly supplying weapons to the two persons - Dharminder Singh alias Commando Singh (21) and Kirpal Singh (26) to carry out hate crimes on the orders of their handlers, a police spokesperson said.
The arrests came as a Usbased Khalistani group affiliated to Sikhs for Justice issued a video threat to Punjab Jail Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa for opposing its "referendum" on creation of a separate homeland for Sikhs, the spokesperson said.
The threat was tweeted by Pannun, apparently in response to Randhawa's reported criticism of the referendum in Canada and the United States.
The minister had said that the people "pitching for Khalistan from their cosy confines were playing with the sentiments of innocent Sikhs in India and they had no knowledge of the reality in Punjab."
The police, which took a serious view of Pannun's video threat, initiated a probe into the matter to ascertain the SFJ legal advisor's links with the two persons arrested in Harpura Dhandoi village near Batala city, the spokesperson said.
The duo have confessed to being motivated and financed by Pannun, along with Paramjit Singh Pamma (UK), Mann Singh (UK), Deep Kaur (Malaysia), to carry out violent acts with an aim to gain publicity in the media for the Isi-sponsored secessionist campaign in Punjab, the spokesperson said.
The arrests happened during an investigation into the torching of two liquor vends on May 31 in Harpura Dhandoi and Panjgrian villages, the spokesperson said.
The accused told the police they were indoctrinated on social media platforms such as Telegram and Whatsapp. They had been asked to spraypaint "Referendum 2020" and torch liquor vends and government properties during the 'Ghallughara' week.
One .32 caliber revolver was seized from Dharminder Singh and a .30 caliber pistol from Kirpal Singh. Posters relating to the "referendum" and spray paint bottles were also seized from them.