Lakhimpur Kheri violence: WhatsApp group created by ex-Babbar Khalsa member before the incident indicates Khalistani link

On October 3, the BJP workers were attacked by alleged protesting ‘farmers’ at Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh. The clash killed eight people, including four protestors, 2 BJP workers, a journalist and a driver who was part of the BJP convoy.

News 18 reported a possible Khalistani link to the attack in which a WhatsApp group “Lalkar” was created before the Lakhimpur incident. A former member of Babbar Khalsa, a Khalistani terrorist organization, has been listed as the admin of the group.

https://twitter.com/CNNnews18/status/1445038998997585924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

According to the report, a WhatsApp group named ‘Lalkar’ was created just before the Lakhimpur incident. The admin of the group was a former member of Babbar Khalsa, a banned Khalistani organisation. A video of Union Minister Ajay Mishra speaking against anti-social elements gathering in the name of farmer protests was shared in that group.

In the video, the minister was seen asking the ‘farmer protestors’ to leave the Lakhimpur area. As per the report, the video was forwarded to 2500-3000 people and used to incite people against the Union Minister.

Back in 2017, Punjab Police and Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorist Squad had made arrests in which many operatives and sympathizers of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) were apprehended. Intelligence agencies had then alerted about the extensive network of BKI prevailing in the regions of western UP.  Udham Singh Nagar police had arrested two Sikhs Kulwinder Singh and Harjeet Singh in 2018 for publishing pro-Khalistani posts on social media. They were also involved in creating a WhatsApp group named 20-20 Khalistan Referendum.

Many reports indicate that Babbar Khalsa and other Khalistani elements have been active in the Lakhimpur Kheri area for years.

When the violent mob attacked BJP workers with sticks and stones and called for their death on Sunday, an individual was spotted wearing a Bhindranwale t-shirt in some images. The presence of Khalistani supporters raised many questions on the incident and whether it was pre-planned violence.