New Delhi: Tightening its noose around Canada-based "designated individual terrorist" Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, the NIA confiscated a house and land of the self-styled general counsel of the outlawed Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) outfit in Punjab's Amritsar and the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Saturday, an official said.
The action, which comes as a big boost to the country's crackdown on the terror and secessionist network being operated from various countries, including Canada, followed confiscation orders passed by the Special NIA Court, SAS Nagar, Mohali (Punjab), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.
The agency has confiscated properties of Pannu, which include 46 Kanal of agricultural property at his ancestral village Khankot in Amritsar district. The official also said that they confiscated his residential property in the Sector 15 area of Chandigarh.
The officials said that Pannu has been on NIA’s radar since 2019 when the anti-terror agency had registered its first case against the terrorist, who has been playing a major role in promoting and commissioning terror acts and activities, and spreading fear and terror in Punjab and elsewhere in the country through his threats and intimidation tactics.
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Non-bailable warrants of arrest were issued against Pannu by the NIA Special Court on 3rd February 2021 and he was declared a ‘Proclaimed Offender (PO)' on 29th November last year. Investigations have revealed that Pannu’s organisation, Sikhs for Justice, was misusing cyberspace to radicalise gullible youth and to instigate them to undertake terrorist crimes and activities, the agency said.
The agency further said that Pannu was the main handler and controller of the SFJ, which was declared an "Unlawful Association" by the Centre on July 10, 2019. Pannu, who was declared a ‘designated individual terrorist’ by the Government of India on July 1, 2020, has been actively exhorting Punjab-based gangsters and youth over social media to fight for the cause of the independent state of Khalistan, challenging the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country, the NIA said.
In recent days, Pannu has been in the news for issuing blatant threats to senior Indian diplomats and government functionaries in public forums. He had also threatened Canadian Hindus for a few days, asking them to leave Canada and claiming that they had adopted a ‘jingoistic approach’ by siding with India, the agency added.
Meanwhile, a property confiscation notice was also pasted outside the property of slain khalistani terrorist Hardeep Nijjar in Punjab. Nijjar was shot dead outside a Gurudwara in Canada’s Surrey in June 2023. He was one of India’s most-wanted terrorists carrying a cash bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head. His death has led to an ongoing diplomatic stand-off between Canada and India.
