High alert in Delhi ahead of Republic Day: Posters of fugitive terrorists put up at metro stations, markets

NEW DELHI: Security agencies are on high alert ahead of the 77th Republic Day and have peppered metro stations and markets in Delhi with updated posters featuring high-profile ‘wanted' terrorists.Top on the list is Arshdeep Singh, alias Arsh Dala, the chief of Khalistan Tiger Force. His prominence in these posters underscores a severe threat posed by his transnational terror-gangster syndicate. After transitioning from a local gangster to a primary operative for the outfit, Dala took its reins following the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed during a local dispute in Canada in June 2023. Dala is recognised by intelligence agencies as the mastermind behind a string of targeted strikes designed to incite communal instability. One of his most chilling operations involved the 2022 murder of a Hindu man in Delhi; the victim was chosen by his henchmen, Naushad and Jagga, specifically because he had a Shiva-and-trident tattoo. While Dala is currently based in Canada where he was recently involved in a shootout, Indian agencies are aggressively going after his network to prevent any disruption during national celebrations. The ‘wanted' list extends to other veteran pro-Khalistan figures who also continue to operate from abroad. Ranjeet Singh Neeta, chief of Khalistan Zindabad Force, and Paramjeet Singh Pamma feature prominently on the posters.Neeta has a long history of coordinating arms smuggling and cross-border militancy, while Pamma is linked to logistical and financial backing of separatist activities. By placing them alongside Dala, Delhi Police is signalling a zero-tolerance approach to the ‘K-Terror' threat that seeks to revive militancy through external funding and radicalisation. Simultaneously, the security grid is focused on neutralising jihadi elements listed on the new posters. They include Sharjeel Akhtar from Deepa Sarai in Sambhal, Mohammed Rehan of northeast Delhi's Chauhan Bangar, wanted in a case involving an IS module, and Mohammed Abu Sufyan of al-Qaida. Sufyan, who hails from Jharkhand's Chatra, first trained at a madrasa in Jamshedpur in 2012 before visiting Pakistan. He then travelled to Nepal before returning to India in March 2015, where he met Maulana Abdul Rehman and started raising AQIS (al Qaida in Indian Subcontinent) cadre. Sufiyan has never never arrested. Intel agencies believe he is now in Afghanistan or Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and is a top member of AQIS, recruiting and training youths for activities involving sleeper cells in India.