The National Investigation Agency has filed a case against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the founder of pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), over charges of attempt to disrupt the transportation sector in India, a statement said on Monday.
The case was registered over Pannun’s latest video released on social media where he is threatening the passengers flying Air India Airlines with a global blockade.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has booked Pannun under sections 120B, 153A & 506 of the IPC and sections 10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 18B & 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, the NIA said in the statement.
In a video released on November 4, Pannun had asked Sikhs to not fly by Air India planes on and after November 19, citing threat to their lives.
He had also issued a warning to the government that “the Indira Gandhi International Airport should remain closed on
the 19th of November”.
“As part of his concerted plan to promote terror acts in India to revive terrorism, Pannun has been creating a false narrative around the issues prevailing in the state of Punjab, especially with regard to Sikh religion, by promoting enmity between the Sikhs in the country and other communities, and his latest threat is in line with the same narrative, which Pannun has actively promoted by threatening and attempting to disrupt essential transportation network systems, including the railways and thermal power plants in India,” the NIA said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on July 10, 2019 had banned SFJ as an unlawful association under the UAPA for its activities.
On July 1, 2020, Pannun was listed as an ‘individual terrorist’ by the Government of India. He has been under NIA’s lens since 2019 when the anti- terror agency has registered its first case against him. Non bailable arrest warrants were issued against him by a NIA special court on February 3, 2021, and on November 29, 2022, he was declared a ‘Proclaimed Offender.’