Pro-Khalistan slogans appear at two Delhi metro stations; police launch probe

NEW DELHI: Pro-Khalistan slogans were discovered written on pillars of Delhi metro stations on Sunday, triggering a police investigation. The slogans were found at Karol Bagh and Jhandewalan Metro Stations, allegedly written by supporters of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a banned Sikh separatist group based in the United States.
The Delhi police have filed an FIR and obtained CCTV footage from the Delhi Metro authorities to aid in their investigation.A security guard at a nearby building noticed the slogans written in black paint on the metro station pillars when he arrived for duty on Sunday morning. "I came to duty at 8 am and saw that something was written in black colour on the pillars of the metro station. A huge crowd had gathered there and was reading the slogans," Bajrangi, the security guard, told ANI. He speculated that the slogans may have been written at night when no one was present to witness the act.
This incident is not isolated, as similar pro-Khalistani graffiti incidents have occurred in Delhi in the past. In January of this year, a man was apprehended by the Delhi Police for his alleged involvement in making pro-Khalistani graffiti on walls in the Tilak Nagar area. In August of last year, the Delhi Police Special Cell detained two individuals from Punjab in connection with pro-Khalistan graffiti and slogans painted at more than five metro stations in Delhi.
Under Indian law, Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) criminalizes and punishes making statements, speeches, or acts that have the effect of disturbing public tranquillity or law and order by promoting enmity or creating fear or alarm between classes of people on the basis of differences in religion, caste, language, or place of birth.
Additionally, Section 505 of the IPC talks about the punishment for anyone who spreads any information, rumour with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility or with intent to incite, or which is likely to incite, any class or community of persons to commit any offence against any other class or community. It states the person can be sentenced to imprisonment which may extend to three years, or fined, or both.
(With agency inputs)