The Central government on Thursday directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to launch a probe against Germany-based Jaswinder Singh Multani of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), his associates from other banned outfits like Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and others, accusing them of attempting to revive terrorism in Punjab.
On Monday, following an alert from the Indian agencies, the German Police had detained Multani for his suspected role in the Ludhiana court complex explosion last week. He has been accused of coordinating with other Pakistan-based pro-Khalistani elements and also conspiring to carry out terror attacks in Mumbai and other parts of the country.
After registering the case, the NIA plans to send a team to Germany as part of the probe. The Indian agencies may also attempt to get Multani’s custody.
Investigations into the Ludhiana blast have indicated that Gangandeep, a dismissed policeman who was carrying the bomb and was killed in the explosion, was earlier in constant touch with Multani. The Punjab Police had earlier mentioned the accused in two cases. Multani’s name also came up during the questioning of a person arrested by the Haryana Police in January for allegedly planning to kill some farmer leaders.
Based on the findings so far , the government has instructed the NIA to investigate Multani and his alleged associates. They include Jagdish Singh Bhura of KZF, his deputy Gurmeet Singh, who is also associated with SFJ; Ranjeet Singh Pakhoke of KTF (Germany); Sukhdev Singh Heran and Hardeep Singh Nijjar of Babbar Khalsa International; and Paramjit Singh Pamma and Ranjeet Singh Neeta, both KTF members. The other pro-Khalistan elements based in India and abroad are also under the NIA scanner.
The case, in which various provisions of the Indian Penal code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act are to be invoked, will be registered based on the allegations that Multani and others are radicalising and recruiting the youth in Punjab on the ground and also via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and various encrypted messengers, including Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal.
Raising funds for arms
The banned outfits and their operatives have been raising funds to procure arms, ammunition and explosives through the smuggling networks in Punjab for carrying out terror attacks. As alleged, Multani was also in contact with an operative of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) named Jibran and a Pakistan-based smuggling syndicate involving Rana Taseem, Imran and others.
The SFJ was banned by the Central government in July 2019 for its involvement in anti-India activities.
