NEW DELHI: The National Investigative Agency (NIA) arrested an accused pro-Khalistan suspected terrorist on Tuesday Gurjeet Singh Nijjar, who had been hiding in Cyprus, at the Indira Gandhi international airport here.
Nijjar was a defendant on the run in the Pune Khalistan case, which stems from the arrest of a defendant Harpal Singh in Pune by Maharashtra ATS on December 2, 2018, with an illegal firearm and some live bullets. Harpal has ties to the banned terror group Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a source said. Subsequently, another defendant, Moin Khan, was arrested by the Punjab Police of Sirhind and his custody was taken by the Mumbai Police on December 24, 2018.
The investigation revealed that Nijjar was the main conspirator in the case. Defendants Gurjeet Singh Nijjar, Harpal, and Moin Khan were active on social media platforms and hatched a criminal conspiracy to revive Sikh militancy with the ultimate goal of forming a separate state from Khalistan. They would post videos and images in praise of the Khalistani terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara, who has been convicted of the murder of the former Punjab chief minister. Beant singh, images from Operation Blue Star and pro-Khalistan publications related to Babbar Khalsa International with the sole intention of motivating like-minded Sikh youth and others to join the Khalistan “movement,” NIA said Wednesday.
Nijjar, who hails from Pandori Sukha sighed The Ajnala town, Amritsar, had left India for Cyprus on October 19, 2017. Sources said their economic situation was not strong as they did not have enough land to generate sufficient income. He was working here as a day laborer when he took out a loan and went abroad on a study visa, but ended up doing menial jobs in Cyprus to make ends meet.
An official said that Nijjar’s whereabouts were constantly followed by law enforcement. A surveillance circular was opened against him and he was eventually detained at the New Delhi airport on Tuesday and arrested by the NIA.
The NIA said Moin Khan was in Tihar jail from 2013 to 2016, during which time he developed contact with Jagtar Singh Hawara and showed his willingness to work for him and shared his contact number with him. Subsequently, as planned, the defendant Moin Khan sent a friend request to the Facebook ID “Khalistani Jindabad Khalistan”. By joining this Facebook group, Moin Khan came into contact with Harpal and Nijjar.
Nijjar motivated Moin by discussing “atrocities” committed against Muslims and Sikhs in India and convinced him to work for a separate “state of Khalistan”. He also ordered Moin to purchase a pistol and ammunition in 2018 to carry out his nefarious designs.
On May 23, 2019, the NIA filed a charge sheet against Nijjar, indicting Harpal Singh, Moin Khan and Sundar Lal Parashar.
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