There have been a series of bomb scares, which has led to the Civil Aviation Ministry to state that he would want to put the culprits in the no fly list. In addition to this, Delhi was rocked by a bomb blast on Sunday, which left the nation shocked.
Although the calls made to the airlines threatening of bomb blasts turned out to be a hoax, it still caused a lot of inconvenience to the passengers and gave a headache to the security machinery. All the flights that received the threat were grounded as the authorities wanted to take no risk.
Security officials part of these probes tell Organiser that it could be the handiwork of some pro-Khalistan elements. The cases are under investigation and we will get to the bottom of it soon, they also said.
However in both these cases, the Khalistan elements have either issued warnings or claimed responsibility for the same. At the time, the security agencies were investigating the matter related to the calls made to the airlines, proscribed terrorist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is the chief of the banned Sikhs for Justice issued a strong warning.
Pannun issued a warning to all passengers not to travel by Air India between November 1 and 19. While issuing the warning, he said that an attack on the airline could take place as it coincides with the “40th anniversary of the Sikh genocide.”
On Sunday, there was a blast near the CRPF school in Delhi’s Rohini. The residents woke up to loud sounds. The CCTV footage captured from near the site showed window panes being shattered.
Although the security agencies are still verifying who could be behind the incident, the Khalistan Zindabad Force or KZF, which is also a proscribed outfit under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act claimed responsibility for the same. The KZF in a Telegram channel linked to it claimed responsibility for the blast. While claiming responsibility for the same, it also had a veiled reference to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Officials are yet to verify this claim, but have said that the role of the KFZ cannot be ruled out. It was a crude bomb that went off, but the sound was incredibly loud as described by the residents of the area. Fortunately none were injured in the incident.
Mind games
The Intelligence Bureau which has been studying the pattern adopted by the Khalistan elements say that they are playing mind games. They are desperate to revive the movement in India, which had been crushed by the security forces in Punjab in the late 1990s, an official with the IB added.
If one goes by Pannun’s statement and the KZF claiming responsibility, it is clear that they are trying spread panic in the minds of the people. With such warnings, people would be scared to travel by air and this could hurt the airlines. Moreover Pannun had given an open date on which the explosion on the Air India flight would take place and this creates more confusion for everyone.
Even in the Delhi blast, those who carried out the attack have managed to drive fear in the minds of the people. Some of the residents told media persons that they fear for their children’s safety. The school bus comes to the place very close by to where the blast took place.
While on one hand, the Khalistan elements could be playing mind games, on the other, it could also be a way of testing the waters. They have been desperate over the years to make a return, but have failed to do so. Moreover, they are gaining enough traction in Canada thanks to a very supportive government and now want to spread to tentacles to India.
Over the years, the pro-Khalistan elements with the complete backing of Pakistan’s ISI has carried out attacks in India and also indulged in nefarious activities. Three years back, these elements were in overdrive mode when drones dropped off drugs, arms and ammunition into Punjab. The investigations showed that the drugs were meant to be supplied in Punjab and the funds raised through it would be diverted for the Khalistan movement. Furthermore it was found that the ISI had hired a bunch of youth who were tasked with moving the arms and ammunition from Punjab to Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the border forces tightening vigil along the Indo-Pakistan border along the Line of Control.
The same elements have also indulged in attacks in Punjab. Recently two children were among three hurt in a blast that took place at Ludhiana. The NIA had recently filed a chargesheet in connection with the Ludhiana Court Complex blast case in which it named Lakhbir Singh Rode of the Khalistan Liberation Force. In this blast that took place on December 12 2012, one person was killed. The NIA also unearthed an ugly nexus between the Khalistan elements and the ISI and said that the two had teamed up together to smuggle arms, ammunition into India and also carry out widespread attacks.
The rise of Amritpal Singh
In the absence of traction, the ISI propped up out of nowhere a person by the name Amritpal Singh. Dropped into Punjab from Dubai, Singh was an ideal candidate for these elements. His only qualification to lead a movement that is pro-Khalistan is that he spoke, looked like and acted like slain terrorist, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
In a short span of time, he garnered scores of followers. Unfortunately the state government at the time had let to go about his business with no scrutiny. He managed to gain an immense lot of traction in a short span of time.
While Amritpal Singh was looking threatening, he was arrested, following which the movement died down. The very fact that there was no protest or a single instance of violence in the wake of his arrest, it made it clear that he had not gained the desired traction.
However in the run up to his arrest there were allegations that he had plans on making the movement turn violent. A man in 2023 had complained that he was beaten by associates of Amritpal Singh. He issued an ultimatum to the police to revoke the case against him and when that did not happen, his supporters broke police barricades and stormed the police complex. They were armed with automatic guns and sharp weapons.
However several officials believe that had he not been arrested, he would have managed to grow the movement much bigger and then would have gone on to create havoc in Punjab and the neighbouring states. He would call himself as the 2nd Jathedar of the Waris Punjab De. Following his arrest, he contested the elections in 2024 from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency.
The road ahead
These are tough times for the Indian security agencies. The movement is gaining traction abroad and these elements are able to influence through the social media. They appear to have the backing of the eco-system as a result of which they have become politically stronger in countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom which pamper them under the garb of freedom of speech.
However India will have to be on the lookout as the above mentioned incidents clearly suggest a Khalistan element to it. They will try to carry out attacks, threaten, play mind games and also test the waters. In a bid to curb their activities, the Indian agencies will not only have to remain vigilant on the ground, but on the social media as well.
