London continues to nurture Khalistani elements

In 2009, a Sikh IPS officer, who was a part of one of the intelligence agencies, developed inputs on the Khalistani groups and their meeting points in the United Kingdom, including religious places, where the radicals would meet and plan anti-India activities.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

These inputs, sources told The Sunday Guardian, were given to the then Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, who was going on a tour of some Western countries, including the United States in September. This visit had come in the wake of the 26 November 2008 Mumbai attacks and the purpose of the minister’s visit was to see the measures that Western agencies were taking to prevent terror attacks on their cities.

There is no confirmation on whether the inputs on the Khalistanis were shared with the relevant agencies in the US and other allied countries, including the UK. However, these religious places still continue to function as hotspots for anti-India propaganda.

As per the 2009 inputs developed by the intelligence officer, the pro-Khalistani groups were arranging funds to organise anti-India propaganda events at gurudwaras in London, Kent, Leicester, Derby, Coventry and Wolverhampton, where they were exhorting the Sikh community to support Khalistan issues. They were also organising demonstrations at the Indian High Commission, London, in support of Khalistani issues.