The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday designated one more individual and two organisations as terrorist and terrorist organisations under the amended Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The individual declared as a terrorist is Harwinder Singh Sandhu@Rinda. The two organisations identified as terrorist organisations are Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF).
The UAPA was amended in August 2019 to include the provision of designating an individual as terrorist. Prior to this amendment, only organizations could be designated as terrorist organisations.
By invoking the amended provision, the Central government has designated 53 individuals as terrorists. With the inclusion of two more organisations as terrorist organizations, there are now a total of 44 designated terrorist organizations under the Ist Schedule of the Act.
An MHA announcement said Harwinder Singh Sandhu@Rinda was declared as terrorist as he was associated with terrorist organization Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and is presently based in Lahore, Pakistan under the patronage of cross border agencies. He has been found involved in various terrorist activities particularly in Punjab. With this declaration, there are now 54 designated terrorists in the IVth Schedule of UAPA.
The Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) is a militant outfit and it aims at reviving terrorism in Punjab and challenges the territorial integrity, unity, national security and sovereignty of India, while promoting various acts of terrorism, including targeted killings in Punjab.
The Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF) has been found involved in infiltration bids, narcotics and weapon smuggling and carrying out terror attacks in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It draws its cadres from various terrorist organisations, such as Lashker-E-Taiba, Jaish-E-Mohammed, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, Harkat-ul—Jehad-E-Islami etc., the MHA order said.
The announcements, made under the guidance of Home Minister Amit Shah, reinforce the commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen national security and combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.