New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered a fresh FIR against US-based Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on charges of announcing a Rs 11 crore reward for anyone managing to stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi from hoisting the tricolour on Independence Day.
Pannun also “unveiled a map of new Khalistan which includes Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh”, the FIR states. The general counsel of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has been booked on charges of promoting secessionism of Punjab from India and establishing Khalistan-a separate state for Sikhs.
The latest FIR was registered last month, but made public on Tuesday, was lodged last month. This step was taken after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) alerted the NIA about credible information regarding addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club viryally from Washington on 10 August. It was at this interaction that Pannun offered Rs 11 crore to any Sikh soldier who stops the Prime Minister of India from hoisting the Tricolour at Red Fort on Independence Day.
“And whereas, during the Press Meet, he also unveiled SFJ’s new ‘Delhi Banayga Khalistan’ Referendum Map which incorporates Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi into envisioned Khalistan,” the MHA told the NIA, according to the FIR.
Pannun came to the limelight last year after the US alleged the involvement of a former Indian official in a plot to kill him on American soil. Indian national Nikhil Gupta is currently lodged in a US prison on charges of murder-for-hire in the alleged assassination plot. Former R&AW officer Vikas Yadav is a co-accused.
The FIR further spoke of a Shaheed Jatha formed by the SFJ. “Pannun has declared that SFJ has formed a Shaheed Jatha to fight against India. By doing so he has indulged in activities for disrupting sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India and spread disaffection among Sikhs against India,” it stated.
This is the seventh such case against Pannun and his outfit by the NIA, India’s counterterrorism agency. The last case by the NIA was registered in November 2023, when Pannun had issued threats against Air India and threatened to take over Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport.
Pannun, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, was declared an individual terrorist by the government of India under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, in 2020.
According to records from the state police forces and the NIA, there are 96 cases registered against him and his outfit, SFJ. These cases were lodged over threats issued by him, ranging from blowing up the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad during the ODI World Cup to a voice note received at the residence of defence minister Rajnath Singh, warning of bids to bomb Parliament and Red Fort.