Patiala man writes ‘pro-Khalistan slogans’, arrested

Karnal Police has arrested a Patiala-based man for writing “pro-Khalistan slogans” on the walls of two educational institutions on 20 June, and said that the accused was promised to pay USD 1,000 by a US-based person for accomplishing the job. The accused has been identified as Manjeet, hailing from Punjab’s Patiala.

Manjeet was produced before the court which remanded him to five-day police custody for further probe.

“Haryana Police arrested a person for writing pro-Khalistan slogans in Karnal On 20 June, slogans were found written on the walls of two educational institutions. We started probing the matter and arrested an accused identified as Manjeet, a resident of Punjab’s Patiala,” said Ganga Ram Punia, Superintendent of police, Karnal on Tuesday.

“The accused was produced in the court, which sent him to 5-day police remand. During interrogation, it came to the fore that the accused was in contact with a US-based person, who promised to pay 1,000 dollars for doing this work. Further probe into the matter is underway,” the official added.

In a similar incident that occurred in Himachal Pradesh in May, one more Punjab resident was arrested for allegedly putting Khalistani flags and writing slogans on the walls in the Dharamsala city of Himachal Pradesh, informed Chief Minister Jairam Thakur.

“Another person who put up Khalistani flags and wrote slogans on the wall in Dharamsala has also been arrested from Punjab. Every Himachali is united against the forces dividing the country. Long live Mother India Jai Hind, Jai Himachal,” Thakur had tweeted.

“In a joint raid with Himachal Pradesh Police, we arrested a resident of Morinda in connection with putting up pro-Khalistan flags and writing slogans on the wall of Himachal Assembly in Dharamsala,” said Rupnagar SSP Dr Sandeep Garg.

He further said, “During interrogation, the accused also accepted that he along with his accomplice had put up Khalistan banners outside our office (mini-secretariat complex) in Ropar, Punjab on 13 April. The accused have been handed over to Himachal Police.”

Notably, the ‘Khalistan’ flags were found tied on the main gate of the Assembly and walls on 8 May.

Police had also registered an FIR under sections 153-A and 153-B of IPC, section 3 of HP Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1985, and section 13 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) at Dharamshala Police station after the ‘Khalistan’ flags incident.

Police booked banned outfit ‘Sikhs for Justice’ (SFJ) general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and called him the ‘main accused’ in the case.