Sikhs for Justice pushes its separatist idea in India behind veil of COVID-19 aid
Chandigarh/New York/IBNS: Hinting to cause disruption in the country at a time when the nation is fighting COVID-19 outbreak, US-based Sikhs for Justice, which is banned in India, is promising Rs 2000 each for Coronavirus positive persons in the state of Punjab and asking people if they support SFJ or the governments led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, media reports said.
"For the past many days, recorded interactive voice response (IVR) messages of SFJ legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun from phone numbers having US ISD code are making their way to mobile phones of residents of Punjab, including lawyers, the top police officers, media and others," reported The Indian Express.
These messages, which promise Rs 2000 aid to patients, also ask the receiver to ‘press 1’ if they agree with the policies of SFJ or ‘press 2’ if they agree with the policy of Centre government led by PM Modi and Punjab government, the newspaper reported.
Punjab Police Intelligence Wing chief, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Varinder Kumar, told the newspaper that police were seized of the matter and had discussed the issue with Centre also.
Kumar told the newspaper that the police had earlier got blocked one of the numbers, but Pannun started using another number to send the recorded voice messages.
Police have also suspected that the recorded messages are being routed through some call centre.
“We took up the issue with telecom operators and recently got one such number blocked which was being used to send such recorded messages. Now, he has started using another number to send the messages. Centre is already aware of the issue and we are taking it up again,” Kumar told The Indian Express.
“He (Pannun) is trying to befool the public. Real purpose of all drama is earning money and this is his source of livelihood. People of Punjab are aware of this and he is not getting any response here. So, he is indulging in all sorts of dramas,” said Kumar.
Another top officer of Punjab Police told the newspaper, “Pannun offering Rs 2000 to every person testing positive for COVID 19 is a joke. No one wants money from such a person. If he really wants to help coronavirus victims, he should do so in United States which is badly grappling with the disease.”
People react on Twitter:
Advocate Divyadeep Walia tweeted: "@PunjabPoliceInd sir, today i had received two voice calls from international number by some gurpatwant singh pannu of some 'sikhs for justice' organisation claiming votes to free punjab from india and planning to topple congress government in punjab and Modi government in centre."
@PunjabPoliceInd sir, today i had received two voice calls from international number by some gurpatwant singh pannu of some 'sikhs for justice' organisation claiming votes to free punjab from india and planning to topple congress government in punjab and Modi government in centre
— Divyadeep Walia (@WaliaDivyadeep) April 6, 2020
Advocate Amarbir Singh Salar also posted on Twitter: "Sir @capt_amarinder ji, I received a call from +1 833 610 1020 claiming to be from Sikhs for Justice (SJF) & an Automated voice message, SJF is trying to mislead the youth of Punjab by spreading inflammatory speech of some Mr. Pannu, clearly stating to break."
Sir @capt_amarinder ji, I received a call from +1 833 610 1020 claiming to be from Sikhs for Justice (SJF) & an Automated voice message, SJF is trying to mislead the youth of Punjab by spreading inflammatory speech of some Mr. Pannu, clearly stating to break
— Amarbir Singh Salar (@amarbirs) April 6, 2020
The Indian government earlier banned pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) for a period of 5 years.
SFJ was formed with Avtar Singh Pannun as its president and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun as its legal advisor.
The SFJ pushes for Sikh Referendum 2020 as part of its separatist agenda.
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