Patiala police arrest duo for pasting Khalistan posters on temple wall

Days after pro-Khalistan posters were found on a wall of Shri Kali Mata Temple in Patiala, police have arrested two men belonging to Salempur Sekhan village near Shambu for the crime

Days after pro-Khalistan posters were found on a wall of Shri Kali Mata Temple in Patiala, police have arrested two men belonging to Salempur Sekhan village near Shambu for the crime.

The duo, identified as Harwinder Singh, alias Prince, and Prem Singh, had pasted the posters in support of the “Khalistan Referendum” on the temple’s rear wall on the intervening night of July 14 and 15.

The duo, identified as Harwinder Singh, alias Prince, and Prem Singh, had pasted the posters in support of the “Khalistan Referendum”, being backed by the banned US-based secessionist group Sikhs for Justice, on the temple’s rear wall on the intervening night of July 14 and 15, said senior superintendent of police (SSP), Patiala, Deepak Pareek.

A case under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) of the Indian Penal Code besides under the Prevention of Defacement of Property Act was registered. According to police, the duo had also pasted similar posters in Ambala Cantonment, at Aryan College in Rajpura and on a traffic sign near Sheetala Mata Temple in Patiala besides spraying pro-Khalistan slogans on a railway underbridge in Rajpura.

“Harwinder Singh worked in Malaysia for over two years, where he came in contact with some anti-national elements. After returning to India, he was still in contact with them through WhatsApp. His foreign handlers tasked him with pasting these posters and sent the money through wire transfer,” said the SSP.

Police have recovered 13 more posters from the duo, which they allegedly planned to paste at the deputy commissioner’s office in Mohali and on important government buildings in Chandigarh, Kasauli and Solan ahead of the Independence Day.