India: Widening Criminal Networks In Punjab – Analysis

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 22:58:34 +0000
World

By Ruchika Kakkar

On October 1, 2024, police arrested two Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operatives, Nitish KumarakaNikku Rana and Gurqirat Singh Bedi, in the Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali) District of Punjab. They were linked to the US-based BKI terrorist Satwinder SinghakaGoldy Brar as well as associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in Punjab. The arrest was made in connection with the September 19, 2024, firing incident at an immigration-cum-coaching centre office in Dera Bassi, Mohali District.Earlier, on September 20, 2024, a day after the incident, three suspects involved in the incident were arrested from Dera Bassi. Two pistols and three live rounds were recovered from the suspects, who had demanded an extortion amount of INR 10 million from the owner of the immigration-cum-coaching centre, Harwinder Singh.

On September 7, 2024, Police arrested Dharmpreet SinghakaDharma and Gurjant SinghakaJanta, key associates of BKI terrorist Goldy Brar, along with one pistol and five live cartridges in Amritsar District, Punjab. The arrests were linked to individuals facilitating organized crime and the possession and distribution of illegal firearms.

On July 18, 2024, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Baljeet Singh, an associate of Canada-based BKI terrorist Lakhbir Singh SandhuakaLanda, in Badwani District in Madhya Pradesh. According to NIA officials, he played a pivotal role as a major weapons supplier to Landa’s agents in Punjab.

On July 14, 2024, five associates of BKI terrorist Lakhbir Singh Sandhu were arrested, and three pistols were recovered from their possession, in theJalandhar District of Punjab.

According to partial data compiled by theSouth Asia Terrorism Portal(SATP), a total of 39 BKI operatives/ associates have been arrested across India since the beginning of 2024 (data till October 20, 2024). In comparison, 20 BKI operatives/associates were arrested in the corresponding period of 2023. Another four BKI operatives/associates were arrested in the remaining period of 2023, taking the total to 24 through 2023. Since March 6, 2000, whenSATPstarted documenting terrorist activities in Punjab, a total of 158 BKI operatives/associates have been arrested.

According toSATPdata, since the beginning of 2024, at least 33 incidents of recovery of arms and ammunition from terrorists or their associates have been reported in Punjab. 12 of these incidents were linked to BKI, two to the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), while group identity was not confirmed in 19 incidents.

BKI is a prominent Khalistan terrorist group with a long history of militancy. Its formation was catalyzed by a violent sectarian conflict between the Nirankari sect of Sikhism and members of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, a devout Gursikh collective. The confrontation, which claimed the life of Akhand Kirtani Jatha leader Fauja Singh, set the stage for the creation of BKI in 1979-80, under the leadership of Sukhdev Singh Babbar and Talwinder Singh Parmar. Sukhdev Singh Babbar and Talwinder Singh Parmar were the founding members of this organisation. The organization's activities first garnered attention when leaflets surfaced following the assassination of the Nirankari sect leader Gurbachan Singh, on April 24, 1980. There are at least two known factions of BKI. The first splinter faction was formed in 1992, when Talwinder Singh Parmar, the co-founder of BKI split from the parent body and formed Babbar Khalsa Parmar. The faction has presence primarily in Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland) as well as North America. In 2017, a second faction of BKI, the Jatha Bir Khalsa, came into existence.

The parent BKI has its presence in foreign countries as well. BKI formed its first overseas unit in Canada in 1979. Its presence has also been reported in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Portugal, and Pakistan. It has linkages in Thailand and Malaysia as well.

Currently, Pakistan-based Wadhawa Singh is leading the parent BKI outfit. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA), through a*notification dated July 1, 2020*, officially designated Wadhawa Singh Babbar as a terrorist. The notificationinter aliareads,

Babbar Khalsa International remained active throughout the State of Punjab during militancy era and executed several major terror attacks in and outside India and also abroad and under the patronage of Wadhawa Singh Babbar, extensively undertakes recruitment drives for terrorist activities and his preaching wings regularly organise events in order to urge people to promote terrorism and support their actions against India.

BKI was involved in various terrorist attacks in India when Khalistani extremism was at its peak between the 1980s and early 1990s. Incidentally, the last major terror attack recorded in Punjab with direct links to BKI was recorded on October 13, 2007, in which seven persons, including a 10-year-old child, were killed and 40 others injured, in an explosion inside a cinema hall in Ludhiana, Punjab.

As Khalistani extremism was wiped out in the early 1990s, the major Khalistani terrorist groups became dormant on the ground, within India. In recent years, however, with almost no tractions on the ground in terms of mobilizing ideologically motivated cadres, these terrorist formations, including BKI, started working with networks of gangsters which had gradually emerged within Punjab. As a result, while cadres were substantially ideologically motivated in the early years – though engagement in criminal activities, or recruitment among criminals was also significant at this stage – in recent times this movement has now become inextricably entangled in a web of criminality, engaging in extortion, targeted killings, and sinister operations with organized criminal networks coming to the forefront. The shift in its operational landscape reveals a growing gangster-terror nexus both within Punjab and abroad, raising alarm over the group’s evolving tactics and the broader implications for regional and global security.

On October 11, 2024, the NIA filed a charge sheet against Wadhawa Singh Babbar and five associated terrorists, including Mandeep KumarakaMangli, Surinder KumarakaRika, and Gurpreet RamakaGora, while Harjit SinghakaLadhi and Kulveer SinghakaSidhu, each carrying a cash reward of INR I million, remain absconding. The case related to the murder of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Vikas PrabhakarakaVikas Bagga, who was shot dead in his shop in Nangal, Rupnagar District, Punjab, on April 13, 2024. The shooters, Mandeep Kumar and Surinder Kumar, were arrested on April 16, 2024. Later, on April 18, NIA arrested DharminderakaKunal, a key accused and associate of foreign-based Khalistani terrorist Harwinder KumarakaSonu. Dharminder procured the illegal arms and ammunition from Madhya Pradesh and supplied them to the shooters on the instructions of Harwinder Kumar.

Meanwhile, Satinderjeet SinghakaGoldy Brar, a gangster who chose to become part of BKI, was officially sanctioned by the UMHA in January 2024. Brar is widely considered the mastermind behind the assassination of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala on May 29, 2022, in Jawaharke village, Mansa District, Punjab. In a social media post onFacebook, Brar claimed responsibility for the attack. His involvement extends to various criminal activities, including cross-border conspiracies, arms smuggling, issuing threats, and orchestrating multiple killings.

Earlier, in a notification dated December 29, 2023, the UMHA declared Lakhbir SinghakaLanda, an "individual terrorist". According to a notification issued by UMHA, Landa was closely associated with Canada-based pro-Khalistan elements, including deceased Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, among others.

Furthermore, Harvinder Singh SandhuakaRinda, is identified as a BKI terrorist operating from Pakistan. According to a gazette notification issued by UMHA, Rinda is affiliated with BKI and is currently residing in Lahore, Pakistan. He has been implicated in a variety of terrorist activities, particularly in Punjab. Previously, Rinda collaborated with Landa; however, according to disclosures by NIA, the two have since ceased their association, with Rinda now aligning himself to the US-based gangster Harpreet SinghakaHappy Passia.

The September 11, 2024, incident involving the lobbing of a hand grenade (no casualty reported) at a residence of K.K. Malhotra, in Sector 10, Chandigarh, highlights the lingering threat of violence linked to BKI. Indeed, following this attack, Harpreet SinghakaHappy Passia claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media post, indicating that BKI and its affiliates maintain a well-organised criminal network with cross-border connections. This newly formed syndicate appears poised to perpetuate terrorism and other criminal enterprises within India.

The rapidly growing collaboration between gangsters and Khalistani terrorists, as well as the widening networks of their international linkages, are a cause for grave concern for the Indian security establishment, as well as for the security services of the host countries where extremist and criminalized elements have consolidated their relationships on the fringes of the Sikh diaspora. While the ideology of Khalistan now finds few takers within Punjab, purely mercenary motives are enabling the deployment of violence on Indian soil. Further, criminal activities of this gangster-terrorist combine in their countries of adoption are also expanding, creating current and potential challenges for enforcement agencies there. These developments bring significant risks of disruption both in Punjab and in the countries where this criminal-terrorist nexus has established itself.

· Ruchika Kakkar
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management