Ahead of the G20 Summit, pro-Khalistan messages were found in five Delhi Metro stations, officials said on Sunday. This discovery has raised concerns and prompted attention from the authorities.
A senior police officer said unidentified people wrote “Delhi Banega Khalistan” and “Khalistan Zindabad” on the walls of the metro stations.
Police sources identified the stations as Shivaji Park, Madipur, Paschim Vihar, Udyog Nagar, and Maharaja Surajmal Stadium. A wall of a government school in Nangloi was also found defaced.
Legal action is being taken, the officer said, adding that the CCTV camera footage of the areas near the five metro stations is being analysed to identify the culprits.
A purported video was released by the banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which showed the defaced walls of the metro stations. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, spokesperson for the SFJ, said in the video, “G20 nations, when you will be meeting in Delhi on September 10, we will be organising a Khalistan referendum in Canada.”
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said the issue has been reported to the concerned law and order agencies.
Some objectionable graffiti has been observed on the outer walls of some of our metro stations on the Green Line. The issue has been reported to the concerned law and order agencies. All necessary cooperation is being extended to them from DMRC’s side,” said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director of corporate communication of DMRC.
The walls at Udyog Nagar, Paschim Vihar, Nangloi, and Shivaji Park stations had slogans like “Khalistan Zindabad”, the police said. The case has been registered under Sections 153a and 505 of the Defacement Act.
The Delhi Police’s Special Cell arrested two men in connection with the incidents.