India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is expected to raise the incident at the Indian High Commission in London during a protest and the pulling down of Indian National Flag by extremists with his UK counterpart Tim Barrow today during the India-UK strategic dialogue meeting in the Capital.
While the national security establishment is tight-lipped about the dialogue, HT learns that NSA Doval will take up the issue forcefully with his counterpart and ask the Rishi Sunak government to take strong action against separatists who are trying to polarize the Indian diaspora in Britain. While the Indian High Commission in London has filed a complaint with UK Home office and police for the March 19 incident, which followed the crackdown on separatist leader Amritpal Singh’s outfit in India, the Delhi Police has also registered an FIR (number 80/23, dated March 23, 2023) on the basis of a complaint made by an Indian national. The FIR has been registered by Special Cell under sections 109/147/148/149/120-B/448/452/325 of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Section 3(1) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act (as the Indian HC is sovereign territory of India) and section 2 of the Prevention of insults to National Honour Act.
On the basis of FIR registered and the demarche to the British Government, NSA Doval is expected to ask the Rishi Sunak government to take immediate action against the chief perpetrator of the protest and the breach of Indian HC, Avtar Singhj Purba aka Khanda and his sponsor Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a proscribed leader of UAPA designated Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) separatist organization. HT also learns that Indian intelligence agencies asked the British police and British intelligence including MI-5 and MI-6 to act against Khanda at least three times in the past, but to no avail. The names of Khanda and some of his associated have been shared by Indian intelligence in the past but the British Intelligence and the Foreign Office have been indifferent to the Modi government’s concerns, Indian officials said.
{{/usCountry}}On the basis of FIR registered and the demarche to the British Government, NSA Doval is expected to ask the Rishi Sunak government to take immediate action against the chief perpetrator of the protest and the breach of Indian HC, Avtar Singhj Purba aka Khanda and his sponsor Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a proscribed leader of UAPA designated Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) separatist organization. HT also learns that Indian intelligence agencies asked the British police and British intelligence including MI-5 and MI-6 to act against Khanda at least three times in the past, but to no avail. The names of Khanda and some of his associated have been shared by Indian intelligence in the past but the British Intelligence and the Foreign Office have been indifferent to the Modi government’s concerns, Indian officials said.
{{/usCountry}}People familiar with the matter said the Narendra Modi government is waiting for the British Government to act. While India’s QUAD partners US and Australia have taken action against the extremist followers of Pannu and Amritpal Singh, the UK and Canada governments have been more tardy in their approach, the officials cited above added, and said that this could affect bilateral relations.
Prime accused Avtar Khanda, who has been named in the Delhi Police FIR along with others, comes from a family of radicals -- his father was involved in the so-called Khalistan movement and his mother is related to Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala, a KLF leader with strong links to Pakistani deep state. He took the “student visa” route to enter the UK and then managed to get political asylum in that country. Subsequently, he became a presenter in UK-based separatist channel KTV along with Jagjeet Singh Jeeta, and continued to push his separatist agenda. The KTV was shut down by British Telecom Regulator Ofcom after the Indian diaspora filed thousands of complaints against the radical agenda promoted by the separatist channel.
Khanda claims association with SAD (Amritsar), headed by Simarjit Singh Mann, but in the UK, the officials cited above added, the lines between the Pakistani deep state, separatist organisations seeking a Sikh state in India, and others, often blurred.
The Thursday dialogue between Doval and Barrow is expected to be candid and blunt as the Modi government has all plans to make Britain accountable for its inaction against extremists.