Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a terrorist from Khalistani, forewarned passengers on Monday not to board Air India aircraft between November 1 and November 19. The “40th anniversary of the Sikh genocide,” he said, made it possible for an attack to happen on an Air India aircraft.
Around the same time last year, the founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), who is dual citizen of the US and Canada, had made a similar warning.
With various Indian airlines retracting several warning calls on possible bombings that proved to be hoaxes, Pannun has issued a new threat.
Since July 2020, Pannun has been listed as a terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs due to allegations of sedition and secessionism. He is the leader of SFJ, an organization that promotes the creation of a separate Sikh state. India had outlawed SFJ as a “unlawful association” a year earlier due to its “anti-national and subversive” actions.
A video, published by Pannun in November 2023, claimed that the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi would be renamed and would be closed on November 19. The video also advised people not to fly with Air India on that day. He was accused by the National Investigation Agency of criminal conspiracy, inciting religious hostility between groups, and a number of other offenses covered by the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In December of last year, Pannun issued a threat, citing rumors of a thwarted assassination attempt against him, to assault the Parliament on or before December 13. The anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Parliament in 2001 is December 13.
This year on Republic Day, he also threatened to assassinate State Police Director General Gaurav Yadav and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. In addition, he exhorted gangsters to get together and assault Mann on January 26.