NIA books Pannun for Air India threat video
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has booked US-based Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, leader of extremist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), for his viral video threatening Air India passengers. Pannun, a designated terrorist, has been under NIA's scanner since 2019 and is known for circulating Khalistani propaganda. The NIA has filed a case against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Pannun's threats have triggered high alerts and investigations by security forces in multiple countries. He has been actively promoting terror acts and disrupting essential transportation networks in India.
New Delhi
The National Investigation Agency has booked US-based Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist and leader of extremist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), for his viral video threatening passengers flying Air India, people familiar with the development said on Monday.
Pannun has been under the scanner of the NIA since 2019. A designated terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), he circulates Khalistani propaganda from foreign soil. Domestic agencies have been making efforts to get him extradited to India.
In the latest case, the anti-terror probe agency has filed a case on its own against Pannun under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and UAPA because he released video messages on social media platforms on November 4, asking Sikhs not to fly on Air India planes from November 19 onwards and saying that they should fear for their lives if they flew Air India.
“Pannun also threatened that Air India would not be allowed to operate in the world. His assertions and threats have triggered a high alert as well as investigations by security forces in Canada, India and certain other countries where Air India flies,” the NIA said in a statement.
“In his video messages, released on 4th November, Pannun had urged Sikhs to stop flying on Air India planes on and after the said date, citing potential threat to their lives. He also issued a warning to the government of India that the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) would remain closed on November 19,” the agency said.
Asserting that these threats were part of his concerted plan to promote terror acts in India, the NIA said Pannun “has been creating a false narrative around the issues prevailing in the state of Punjab, especially with regard to the Sikh religion, by promoting enmity between the Sikhs in the country and other communities”.
The latest threat, NIA said, was in line with the same narrative, which Pannun has actively promoted in the past by threatening and attempting to disrupt essential transportation network systems, including the railways, as well as thermal power plants in India.
A charge sheet filed by the NIA in December 2020 against Pannun, UK-based Paramjit Singh Pamma and Canada-based Hardeep Singh Nijjar stated that the SFJ, floated in the garb of a human rights advocacy group and with offices in various foreign countries like the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, etc, is a front for Khalistani terrorist outfits operating from foreign soil, including Pakistan.
Intelligence agencies have also alerted that Pannun is a key person behind organising demonstrations and on-ground campaigns outside Indian high commissions in the UK, the US, Canada, Germany and other countries.
The home ministry banned the SFJ on July 10, 2019, for its anti-India activities, while Pannun was declared an individual terrorist on July 1, 2020.
The first case was registered against the self-proclaimed general counsel of the SFJ in 2019. In September, the NIA confiscated his share of a house and land in Amritsar in Punjab and Chandigarh. He has been declared a proclaimed offender, but attempts to get an international arrest warrant from the Interpol have not fructified yet.