New Delhi: The security agencies are on high alert as the banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) is learnt to have announced a $125,000 reward for anyone who hoists a Khalistan flag at the Red Fort on Independence Day on August 15.
Delhi Police, the nodal agency for law and order in the national capital, was busy coordinating with different security establishments ahead of Independence Day when it was alerted to the SFJ offer.
Over 45,000 security personnel will guard every nook and corner of the city on Independence Day, besides over 2,000 snipers deputed at specific locations on high-rise buildings in the five-km periphery around the Red Fort.
Security agencies have meanwhile assured that it is "just an attempt by the SFJ to create panic". Senior Delhi Police officers connected with making the security arrangements said any suspected person will be taken into custody and that it is "impossible" to breach the security cordon on Independence Day.
The alert was issued after SFJ's Attorney and General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun put out a message on the social networking sites, announcing "a reward of USD 125,000 for anyone who will raise Khalistan flag at the Red Fort during India's 74th I-Day celebrations".
Declaring that August 15 is not Independence Day for the Sikhs, the SFJ leader reminded the community that "1947 was just a swapping of rulers for them as the Indian Constitution labels the Sikhs as Hindus; a genocide of Sikhs was committed with impunity (1984) and natural resources of Punjab are being unjustly appropriated."
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The pro-Khalistan group last month had declared that it planned to hold voter registration camps for its secessionist agenda 'Referendum 2020' on August 15 in front of Indian Embassies in the US, the UK, Canada, Italy, Germany, France, Australia, and New Zealand during the Independence Day celebrations.