With the Khalistan movement gaining momentum thanks to the support by countries such as Canada, the Intelligence Bureau has issued a warning about targeted killings in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra.
In its report, the Intelligence Bureau has said that the gangster-terror nexus which is used by the Khalistan elements is being used to carry out acts of terror and targeted killings in India.
It is a well-layered modus operandi an Intelligence Bureau official tells Organiser. The bosses are seated in Pakistan, Canada, Australia, Spain and South America. Following this comes the next rung and the job of these persons is to assign hits to be carried out by gangsters. When it comes to terror strikes, the terrorist network gets the instructions. For instance, the RPG attack which took place in Mohali, Punjab was the handiwork of the terror network.
The second rung then passes on the information to the gangsters and terrorists who operate on Indian soil. The job is then assigned to the foot soldiers, who ultimately carry out the assignment.
Further the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is probing multiple cases relating to the Khalistan elements has learnt that none of these persons meet in person. They have dedicated centres which have sophisticated equipments, which are used to communicate and issue orders.
These centres in various parts of the world were set up by the likes of Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar. They were initially set up by these gangsters to further their extortion racket. It was then hijacked by the ISI, which involved the Khalistan elements into the mix. Today these command centres are being used to undertake extortion threats, terror acts and targeted killings.
The NIA learnt that the funding primarily is done by the ISI. Some funding is also collected by the Khalistan elements from sympathisers and left leaning persons.
Since the establishment of these command centres, there have been scores of targeted killings and terror attacks.
Attack on Hindus
One of their primary targets have been Hindu leaders. On January 18, 2016 gun shots were fired at the New Kidwai Nagar Park in Ludhiana, Punjab. The place was to host a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shakha. None were injured as the event was to be held later during the day. On the same day, RSS leader Naresh Kumar was shot at an injured by masked motorcycle borne men.
Some of the other Hindu leaders to be shot at were Shiv Sena leader, Amit Arora, Brigadier Jagdish Singh Gagneja, the RSS vice president of Punjab, Amit Sharma, a religious preacher and RSS leader Ravindra Gosai.
In all these cases, it was found that the hit orders were given through these command centres. These killings were however not carried out by the gangsters, but by operatives of the Khalistan Zindabad Force.
Even in recent times several Hindus in Canada have complained about a rising threat to their lives. Open threats have been hurled at Hindus living in Canada to leave the country or face the consequences.
A clear message
The fact that these Khalistan elements have been targeting Hindu leaders the most clearly show that there is an ISI hand behind all these attacks. The ISI not only wants Punjab to burn but also send out a clear message to Hindu leaders in India.
The NIA probe revealed that these elements want to instil a sense of fear among the Hindus and hence are undertaking these targeted killings.
The latest Intelligence Bureau warning also suggests that there are bound to be many such orders which would be given in the near future and the primary target would be the Hindus.
In the wake of tight security, these elements may not be able to stage big attacks. Hence they would focus more on targeted killings, propaganda and fear mongering. For instance the recent threats issued by proscribed terrorist and chief of the Sikhs for Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun amounted to fear mongering. He had warned people from flying Air India in November. While the investigating agencies found that this was an empty threat, they are still not taking any chances.
With these warning signs and the events unfolding in Canada, security agencies in India are leaving no stone to unturned to ensure that each and every threat is neutralised and the country remains safe.
