FIR against Pannun for threat to disrupt ICC Cricket World Cup in Gujarat

The FIR was registered against SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun for threats issued via recorded voice messages

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat police have filed a first information report (FIR) against banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun for threats to disrupt the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament, including the opening match between India and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat on October 5.

In his message, SFJ’s Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said they will turn the World Cricket Cup into world terror cup

“An FIR has been registered against Pannu at the Ahmedabad cyber police station. The Ahmedabad city police have taken note of threatening calls made to the residents of Ahmedabad, presumably to create fear among them. Pannu is a proclaimed terrorist whose intent is to propagate hatred, disrupt the nation’s unity and security, and provoke the public,” said Ajit Rajyan, ACP, Cyber Crime, Ahmedabad, said on Friday

According to the FIR, the threats were conveyed through a pre-recorded voice message attributed to Pannun, in which he threatened to “storm Ahmedabad with Khalistan flags” on October 5 and take revenge for the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force operational chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18. “Remember October 5, it will not be World Cricket Cup, it will be beginning of World Terror Cup.”

HT has reviewed a copy of the FIR, which has been registered under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Several people in Gujarat received calls on their mobile phones from a UK phone number wherein a pre-recorded audio message was played.

The message was relayed through bulk messaging and mass voice calls. The accused has in the past used SIM box technology where a device is used to bypass international calling rates by fraudulently routing international calls through local phone numbers.

Pannu’s outfit is at the heart of diplomatic tensions that have spiked between India and Canada, following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations that Indian agents were “potentially” involved in the killing of Pannu’s close ally and Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.

India rejected the allegations as ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’ and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa’s expulsion of an Indian official over the case.

Canada-based Pannu was designated as a terrorist in 2020 and faces several criminal cases in Punjab. Earlier this month, the National Investigation Agency seized properties owned by Pannun in Amritsar and Chandigarh.