Khalistani Separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun: The Interpol has rejected India’s second request to issue a Red Corner Notice on terror charges against the Canada-based founder and legal advisor of pro-Khalistan organization Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a setback to the Center’s case against Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The Interpol stated that Indian authorities failed to provide sufficient information to support their case.
The UAPA, under which the red corner was requested, has reportedly come under fire for being “misused” to target minority groups and rights campaigners without “respecting” their right to due process and a fair trial, according to sources.
SFJ is an organization that advocates for an independent Khalistan, according to the sources, and Interpol is aware that Pannun is a “high-profile Sikh separatist.” However, they claimed that the report found that Pannun’s actions have a “clear political dimension,” which is in violation of Interpol’s Constitution and ineligible for a Red Corner Notice.
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According to sources, the Commission reached the conclusion that the National Central Bureau (NCB) of India had “insufficient information” to demonstrate the “terrorist nature of the crime” and Pannun’s “possible active and meaningful involvement in terrorist activities” during a session held at the end of June.
Red Corner Notice requests for Indian law enforcement agencies are processed and coordinated by the NCB, which is a division of the CBI. In Pannun’s case, the NCB submitted the National Investigation Agency’s request for a Red Corner Notice on May 21, 2021. (NIA). India has outlawed the SJF.
According to sources, India mentioned an arrest warrant issued against Pannun by a Special NIA Court in Mohali on February 3, 2021, in its submission to the Interpol Commission regarding Pannun’s plea. In describing the case, it was reported that the NIA’s investigation “proved” that Pannun had utilized a friend named Nihal Singh alias Fateh Singh on social media platforms to “recruit,” “radicalize,” and “task” other accused in order to commit “terror activities,” according to sources.
The murders of major Indian politicians, the burning of commercial buildings, the acquisition of weaponry for carrying out terrorist activities, and “recruitment” into their “terror gang,” according to sources, are among the acts that India allegedly told the Commission were involved. According to information obtained by India, Pannun “financed these crimes from outside” through “his proxies” using a variety of payment methods.
India claimed that Pannun wanted to advance a “secessionist” cause by “reviving terrorism in Punjab” and “killing innocent people.”
According to sources, Pannun refuted the accusations in his plea to the Commission and referred to India’s request as an effort to “suppress activists.” Additionally, he denied that SFJ was a terrorist group and stated that the focus of his legal work was to advocate for Sikhs’ right to “self-determination” and to file complaints in the US and Canada on behalf of “victims regarding human rights abuses,” according to sources.
They said that Pannun had filed separate civil claims in New York against Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress, and Manmohan Singh, who was the prime minister at the time, alleging that the “commission of crimes against humanity and other violations in Punjab” had caused “damages.”
Sources claimed that a crucial aspect of the Commission’s judgment—Article 3 of the Interpol Constitution, which bars the organisation from engaging in “any intervention or actions of a political, military, religious, or racial character”—was the basis for the conclusion. An earlier request for a Red Corner Notice against Pannun from Indian police in November 2018 had been denied by Interpol in January 2019.
Lack of details on three counts are cited
This time, it cited a number of issues with the Indian request, primarily a lack of details on three counts: Pannun’s bank information or alleged international wire transfers; his alleged involvement in terrorist acts; and any alleged connections between Pannun and Fateh Singh or other defendants in the NIA case.
In addition, the Commission emphasised that Pannun had been designated a “terrorist” under the UAPA without being found guilty. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has identified Pannun as one of 38 “terrorists” under the UAPA.
With regard to the UAPA, the Commission cited open letters from UN experts who claimed that “UAPA’s vague definition of “unlawful activities” and “membership of terrorist organisations” confers discretionary powers upon state agencies, weakening judicial oversight and reducing civil liberties in the process.”
NIA has allegedly filed three charge sheets at least against Pannun and SFJ, alleging that they damaged the Tricolor and hoisted the “Khalistan flag” on the grounds of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Moga, Punjab, in August 2020.
For engaging in “actions, which are harmful to internal security of India and public order, and have the potential to disrupt peace, the unity, and integrity of the country,” the MHA designated SFJ as a “unlawful association” in July 2019.
On requests from Indian law enforcement agencies, 279 people—including 200 Indian citizens—were given Red Corner Notices, according to the Interpol website. They include Sikh separatists and mobster Dawood Ibrahim.
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Pannun is dealing with at least 22 cases in Punjab alone, some of which were taken by the NIA, in addition to cases in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi.
After Pannun allegedly published a video urging people to hoist the “Khalistan flag” at the offices of Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police in the state, the Gurgaon police in Haryana filed a FIR against him on April 15 on allegations of sedition.
In Himachal Pradesh, a new complaint under the UAPA was filed against Pannun on May 8 for allegedly organising the attaching of a pro-Khalistan flag to the perimeter of the Vidhan Sabha in Dharamshala and other similar instances in the state — and designating June 6, 2022, as “Khalistan Referendum Day.”
Sanjay Kundau, the DGP for Himachal at the time, claimed to have asked for a Red Corner Notice against Pannun.
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