At 5ft 9in, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is hardly tall by Punjabi standards. Nor does he have any stature in Punjab-the people there, including Sikh hardliners, rejected his call for a Khalistan referendum in 2020. He drew attention when he stood on a Canadian street threatening all and sundry during the G20 summit in New Delhi in September.
Pannun, 55, was not a recognisable face anywhere until a few years ago. In the late 1990s, his parents found his name on a proclaimed criminal offenders list, and the law graduate from Panjab University was packed off to the US to pursue a master's in law in New York.
In the US, he found support of a criminal-terror nexus that stretched beyond New York and Washington and into Canada. As per National Investigation Agency records, his rise as a terror ideologue came about during his travels from the Empire State Building in New York, where he runs a law firm on the 59th floor, to the streets of Surrey and Ottawa. India declared him a terrorist in 2020.
Pannun has allegedly been building a pro-Khalistan network using dual passports to remain safe. He has chanted separatist slogans and incited attacks on Indian consulates in Canada and the US, desecrating the Indian flag.
Top security brass in New Delhi and Punjab, who have been tracking his trajectory for two decades, are frustrated and upset. They had sent piles of intelligence records, technical evidence, recordings and call intercepts to US and Canadian security agencies. These lay unattended, and crisis blew up with India accusing Canada of harbouring terrorists.
Bu hikaye THE WEEK India dergisinin October 08, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye THE WEEK India dergisinin October 08, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
