Ludhiana/Patiala, Punjab (September 29, 2012): According to media reports, the National Investigating Agency (NIA), has lodged a formal FIR to investigate the role of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) in alleged attempts to revive “terror in Punjab”.
“The FIR would help the agency to check BKI’s funding channels, keep tab on their members and even confiscate their properties” reports The Tribune (TNS).
The police in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi is reported to have allegedly busted various modules of BKI in the recent past.
According a TNS report: “Sources said regular inputs were shared with NIA counterparts to identify the funding channels of the BKI. ‘But in the interest of the nation, we cannot discuss such issues,’ said a senior police officer of the Punjab Police”.
“According to the NIA, a formal FIR has been lodged at the agency headquarters in New Delhi. Following Ministry of Home Affairs orders, a case was registered under Sections 121 and 121 (A) of IPC that pertains to waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging a war against the Government of India and under Sections 17, 18, 38, 39 and 40 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act” adds The Tribune (TNS) news report.
List of alleged suspects is also published by The Tribune:
“Many NGOs based in Europe, Asia and Canada, that have donated money to BKI, are under our scanner,” an unnamed senior police officer is reported to have said by TNS.
This news report published by The Tribune further adds that “In 2011, a confidential letter, shot to the AIG’s (Counter Intelligence Unit) in Patiala, Bathinda, Jalandhar and Amritsar on October 21, 2011, the state police had asked for a review of the list of suspected BKI members on November 9. Many on the list have been missing from Punjab for the past over two decades. While few of the suspects have been arrested, others are still on the run”.
ADPP lash back on attempt to crush Political dissent through misuse of Law:
On the other hand Harpal Singh Cheema, a Sikh political activist and Senior Vice President of Akali Dal Panch Pardhani (ADPP) has lashed on Indian state for attempting misuse of notorious laws to crush the political dissent.
“Akali Dal Panch Pardhani is a democratic political party, we have contested elections and our president Bhai Kulvir Singh is a democratically elected member of SGPC from Phillaur constituency” said Harpal Singh Cheema, who is also a practising lawyer.
“ADPP has nothing to do with Babbar Khalsa International and Indian agencies and police know it very well but they are linking names of ADPP leaders, including mine, to prevent us from propagating our political beliefs through democratic means” he added.
“ADPP is ready to face any inquiry for alleged flow of funds. If Indian state is suspecting us for anything we would extend every help to clear their doubt but falsely implicating us for ‘Waging war against the State’ and various other sections under notorious ‘Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act’ is undemocratic and barbaric act” he added.
State is making repeated attempts to implicate ADDP leaders and each time police, prosecution and Indian agencies have failed to prove anything besides planting false allegations through media reports, claimed Advocate Cheema. He informed Sikh Siyasat News (SSN) that in 2009 similar charges were levelled against Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu, then President of ADPP besides Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur and others; but the state has failed to prove any of the charges in the court of law. Though the case is still in the court but for last three years there is no significant progress in trial which shows that the state does not have any evidence to substantiate the allegations.