NIA files case against designated terrorist Gurpatwant Pannun, SFJ over Air India threat

The National Investigation Agency has In video messages, released on November 4, Pannun had asked Sikhs to stop flying on Air India planes on and after November 19, citing a potential threat to their lives.

New Delhi: A case has been registered against designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun for threatening people flying Air India and the airline with closure of operations from November 19, the NIA said on Monday.

The case has been registered under the Indian Penal Code and the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). In video messages, released on November 4, Pannun had asked Sikhs to stop flying on Air India planes on and after November 19, citing a potential threat to their lives. Pannun, the self-proclaimed general counsel of the outlawed "unlawful association", Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), released the video messages on various social media platforms. Following this a high alert was issued and investigations started by security forces in Canada, India and certain other countries where Air India flies.

Pannun has been under the NIA's lens since 2019, when the anti-terror agency registered its first case against him. In September, the NIA had confiscated his share of a house and land in Amritsar in Punjab and Chandigarh. Non-bailable arrest warrants were issued against Pannun by a NIA Special Court on February 3, 2021, and he was declared a "Proclaimed Offender" on November 29 last year.