NIA raids: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday (November 22) raided premises of suspects at 14 places in Punjab and Haryana having hyperlinks to outlawed ‘illegal Association’ Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), sources stated. The raids had been performed in shut coordination with the Punjab Police. The investigating company performed early morning raids following inputs about some suspects having hyperlinks to the SFJ. NIA’s transfer comes two days after the company introduced on Monday to register a case towards SFJ’s Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who in his newest viral video, threatened the Air India passengers and the airways with a worldwide blockade and closure of its operations from November 19.
NIA’s case towards Pannun
Pannun was booked underneath varied sections of the Indian Penal Code and sections Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
“Pannun is the the self-proclaimed General Counsel’ of the outlawed ‘unlawful Association’ SFJ, and is in the eye of the storm yet again following the release and circulation of video messages on various social media platforms urging the Sikhs not to fly on Air India planes on and after November 19 claiming threat to their lives if they flew on Air India,” NIA stated in an announcement.
Pannun had additionally threatened that Air India wouldn’t be allowed to fly in the world.
Pannun’s threats triggered a large excessive alert and investigations by safety forces in Canada, India and another nations the place Air India operates.
What had Pannun stated?
Pannun, in video messages launched on November 4, had urged Sikhs to cease flying on Air India planes on and after the stated date and claimed that there’s a potential menace to their lives.
Issuing warning to the Government of India, he had stated, “The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) would remain closed on the 19th of November”. IGIA is one of the busiest airports in the world.
As half of his concerted plan to promote terror acts in India to revive terrorism in India, Pannun has been making a false narrative across the points prevailing in the state of Punjab, particularly with regard to Sikh faith, by selling enmity between the Sikhs in the nation and different communities.
The newest menace is in line with the identical narrative, which Pannun has actively promoted in the previous by threatening & making an attempt to disrupt important transportation community techniques, together with the Railways, in addition to Thermal Power Plants in India.
Home Ministry’s motion towards SFJ
The Ministry of Home Affairs had, on July 10, 2019, banned SFJ as an ‘illegal affiliation’ underneath the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for its actions. On July 1, 2020, Pannun was listed as an ‘particular person terrorist’ by the Central authorities.
Pannun has been underneath the NIA scanner since 2019 in which the anti-terror company registered its first case towards him.
In September 2023, the NIA had confiscated his share of the home and land of the listed terrorist in Amritsar (Punjab) and Chandigarh Union Territory. Non-Bailable warrants of arrest had been issued towards Pannun by the NIA Special Court on February 3, 2021 and he was declared a ‘Proclaimed Offender (PO)’ on November 29, 2022.
(With ANI inputs)
