The accused, Pargat Singh (23), a resident of Tarmala village in Sri Muktsar Sahib district, is alleged to be one of the key conspirators and recruiters of radical Sikh youth for the SFJ. (Files)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested a 23-year-old allegedly involved in recruiting radical Sikh youths for the outlawed Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) group on directions from foreign handlers in a bid to create unrest in the country.
The accused, Pargat Singh (23), a resident of Tarmala village in Sri Muktsar Sahib district, is alleged to be one of the key conspirators and recruiters of radical Sikh youth for the SFJ. He was produced in the special court and was remanded to NIA’s custody till June 29.
The case against SFJ as part of which Pargat Singh has been arrested was registered in 2018 at Sultanwind Police Station, Amritsar (City) under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) including the sedition. During investigation, Sections 17, 18, 19 of UA (P) Act and Section 25 of Arms Act were added.
Punjab Police had filed a chargesheet against eleven arrested accused in the case in March 2019. This case was subsequently re-registered by NIA on March 5 and taken up for investigation.
The case is related to series of acts of violence including acts of arson in Punjab during the year 2017-18, carrying out of propaganda activities in support of Referendum 2020/SFJ by groups of radicalised youths under direction of and financial assistance from SFJ handlers located abroad.
The agency claimed that investigation revealed that arrested accused persons, including Pargat Singh, had received funds from their foreign handlers through various Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS) platforms. Further investigation in the case is in progress, the NIA added.