NEW DELHI: India’s anti-terror agency has filed a case against a Sikh separatist leader, who urged the Sikh community members not to travel on Air India flights, for threatening not to let the flag carrier operate anywhere in the world.

The agency said security forces were on alert after Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who acts as general counsel of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) — a group campaigning to establish an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan carved out of India — issued the threats.

The demand for Khalistan has resurfaced many times for nearly five decades, while India sees the movement as a security threat. A violent insurgency in the 1970s and 1980s by Sikh militants paralysed the northern state of Punjab, where Sikhs are a majority, for more than a decade.

The case against Pannun has been registered under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 and under sections of the Indian Penal Code, the National Investi­gation Agency (NIA) stated.

“Pannun threatened that Air India would not be allowed to operate in the world … in his video messages, released on Nov 4,” it said, adding that he had urged Sikhs not to travel on Air India flights from Sunday, “claiming a threat to their lives”.

Air India has previously been targeted in 1985. Some Sikh militants were blamed for the bombing of its Boeing 747 aircraft, with 329 people aboard, flying from Canada to India.

Reuters has not independently verified the video messages, which were widely shared on social media this month.

While the SFJ, which has been banned in India since 2019, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment sent to an email address listed on its website, Air India chose not to immediately respond to a request for comment.

India listed Pannun, a resident of the United States, as an “individual terrorist” in 2020.

Media reports claim he has dual citizenship of the US and Canada. The SFJ has offices in Britain, Canada and the United States, it says on its website.

The case against the SFJ leader has been filed at a time when Canadian agencies investigate “credible” allegations linking Indian government agents to the June killing there of a Sikh separatist leader, which frayed ties between the two countries. India has rejected Canada’s suspicions.

In the wake of the threats, investigations have been launched in Canada, India and some other countries where the airline, owned by the Tata Group conglomerate, operates, the NIA said. It added that Pannun had previously threatened to disrupt railways and thermal power plants in India.

Interpol has rejected two req­uests by India to issue a red corner notice against Pannun, the Indian Express newspaper said.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2023