NIA conducts search at locations linked to SFJ chief Pannun in Punjab
Chandigarh, Sep 20: In a major action against banned terror organisation Sikh For Justice’s (SFJ) chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday conducted searches at four locations across Punjab in a case related to him for the promotion of terror-related activities and violence.
NIA teams swooped down at one location in Moga, two locations in Bathinda, and one location in Mohali at premises connected with suspects in the case.
The searches led to the seizure of various incriminating materials, including digital devices, which are under examination.
The case relates to the conspiracy by Pannun, one of the founders of the US-based separatist group SFJ who actively lobbies for a separate state for Sikhs, which they call Khalistan, in the US, Canada, and the UK, with other members of the SFJ. SFJ, a fringe organisation, was declared unlawful under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and he was declared a designated terrorist by the Indian government in 2020.
The NIA had registered the case against Pannun on November 17, 2023, under Sections 120B, 153A and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Sections 10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 18B 8 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, relating to funding of terrorist activities in Punjab from abroad, creating disharmony among communities and radicalising youth for terrorist activities.
In September last year, the NIA had confiscated two properties of Pannun in Amritsar and Chandigarh. The properties include 46 kanal of agricultural property in the ancestral village Khankot, located on the outskirts of Amritsar district. It has also confiscated his residential property in the Sector 15 area of Chandigarh. After confiscation, Pannun lost rights to the property which now belongs to the government. In 2020, his properties were attached, which meant he could not sell the property.
Pannun’s father Mohinder Singh Pannun was a resident of Nathu Chak village of Patti subdivision in Tarn Taran district before the Partition. After the Partition, the family shifted to Khankot village.
