A worker paints a wall on which pro-Khalistan slogans were written at Shivaji Park Metro station in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Shortly after Delhi Police revealed the arrest of two operatives of banned outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) accused of allegedly spray-painting pro-Khalistan graffiti and slogans at Metro stations last week, the outfit issued a warning. They declared their intention for their operatives to now storm IGI Airport with Khalistan flags to avenge the arrests, reported The Times Of India.
On Thursday, the special cell had announced the arrest of SFJ operatives Pritpal Singh, alias Kaka, and Rajwinder Singh, alias Kale, from Faridkot. Additionally, SFJ founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun declared a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for information about families of Delhi Police officers in Canada, UK, Germany, Italy and Australia.
How police located SFJ men
According to Special Commissioner HGS Dhaliwal, Pannun had promised to pay them $7,000 for the work and had already paid $3,500 via Western Union as an advance. "They were in touch with Pannun on the Signal app and had called him up after the task was completed," Dhaliwal said.
The act on August 26 had sparked a massive manhunt by numerous teams made up of more than 100 police officers. According to sources, a team lead by ACP Sanjay Dutt and inspector Chandrika Prashad was able to track down the duo after using technical surveillance and deep tech infiltration procedures that included analysing more than 5,000 mobile phone numbers.
Pramod Kushwaha, Additional Commissioner (Special Cell) said Pritpal purchased a fake degree in law and a PG diploma in forensic science. "During the pandemic, he had seen a post on social media, which was actually made by an associate of Pannun that promised help to Covid patients. Pritpal had received Rs 5,000 for each family member," added Kushwaha.
A month ago, Pannun assigned him the job of painting pro-Khalistan slogans around the city, including Delhi Metro stations, before the G20 summit. Pritpal lured his associate Rajwinder, a labourer and paid him half the amount. Dhaliwal said, "They purchased the paint from Barnala and left Bathinda for Delhi through Punjab Mail on August 25. They then conducted a recce of Metro stations and finalised some for painting pro-Khalistan slogans."
The two explored the city till 7 pm before boarding a bus for Punjabi Bagh. When they arrived, they began painting graffiti on the walls of the Metro stations between Shivaji Park Metro station and Maharaja Surajmal Stadium station. They then got on an auto and reached the Safdarjung railway station. On August 27, they reached Bathinda, according to Kushwaha.
When the incident was known hours later, the cops covered the graffiti with paint. The probe was transferred to the special cell after an FIR was registered. "Since there was limited information available about the suspects, analysis and scanning were expanded to include nearby roads and locations and footage from CCTV cameras set up by the police and the Delhi government were also accessed. The mobile phone dump of several locations was obtained and analysed simultaneously," an officer said.
Finally, two suspects were seen in CCTV footage filming nearby graffiti spots. By analysing active cellphone numbers, some numbers from the Punjab telecom network were found moving around these locations at the time of the incident. The numbers were then placed on interception and a team from the special cell went to Bathinda to find the users. On Wednesday night, the duo was tracked down near the town, the official added.