Delhi Police have arrested two members of a sleeper cell linked to US-based Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun -- the chief of the banned group Sikhs for Justice. The arrests were made in connection with an incident where controversial and provocative lines were written at two different locations in Delhi just days before Republic Day, allegedly to disrupt peace and create panic.
Investigators revealed that the entire conspiracy was planned from Canada. A close associate of Pannun, currently residing there, had hired two men -- Baljinder and Rohit alias Keerath -- to execute the plan in Delhi. Police sources said the duo had been lured with a promise of two lakh rupees to write the objectionable messages in public places. Baljinder works as an ambulance driver in Delhi and Rohit is his associate, they added.
Mastermind fled to Canada before Republic Day
The police stated that the key mastermind behind the operation, who lived in Tilak Nagar, left for Canada a few days before Republic Day. He was in direct touch with Pannun and coordinated the entire operation through overseas handlers. Police teams are now searching for other associates of Pannun who may have played a part in the broader conspiracy.
FIR against Pannun
Ahead of Republic Day 2026, the Delhi Police Special Cell has filed an FIR against Pannun for allegedly issuing threats aimed at disturbing peace in the national capital, according to a CNN News18 report. The case has been lodged under Sections 196, 197, 152 and 61 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, which deal with promoting enmity, harming national integration, acts that endanger the sovereignty and unity of India, and criminal conspiracy. Investigators are also scrutinising a video released earlier by Pannun in which he claimed that his "sleeper cells" had put up pro-Khalistan posters in the Rohini and Dabri areas of Delhi. Police are verifying the authenticity of these claims as part of the ongoing probe.
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