The Delhi Police on Thursday got removed graffitis painted on a wall with slogans like “Khalistan Zindabad” and “Referendum 2020” in the Paschim Vihar area of the national capital, reported ANI. Text such as “S.F.J” (Sikhs for Justice), “Referndum 2020”, “Vote for Khalistan” were seen painted on a wall.
Delhi Police PRO Suman Nalwa said that some people had painted “anti-national” and “Khalistan-related graffiti” at some locations in Delhi, adding that legal action will be taken in the case.
“This is not a security-related issue. Legal action will be taken in this matter. Delhi Police is ensuring that no wrong activities take place ahead of Republic Day. This doesn’t affect our security. Since SFJ (Sikhs for Justice) is a banned organisation, it is trying to make itself known and wants to be in the news,” she said.
Centre bans Sikhs for Justice group
The Centre in 2019 had declared fringe organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), run by a few radical Sikhs of foreign nationality in the US, Canada, the UK, etc, as unlawful under the provisions of Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
The SFJ called itself a “human rights advocacy group”.
The Centre, by its July 10, 2019 notification, had declared the SFJ an unlawful association and had banned it for five years, saying the group’s primary objective was to establish an “independent and sovereign country” in Punjab and it openly espouses the cause of Khalistan and in that process, challenges the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
The SFJ, is a US-based group, and was formed in 2007, seeks a separate homeland for Sikhs — a “Khalistan” in Punjab. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a law graduate from Panjab University and currently an attorney at law in the US, is the face of SFJ and its legal adviser. The secessionist campaign, called ‘Referendum 2020’, sought to “liberate Punjab from Indian occupation”, The Indian Express has reported.
Pannum was booked by Gurugram Police in April last year on charges of sedition and UAPA after he allegedly released a video asking people to raise the Khalistan flag at the offices of the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police in Haryana.