On Sunday morning, Khalistan flags were found tied to the main gate and boundary wall of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Dharamshala.
Himachal Pradesh | It might have happened late night or early morning today. We have removed the Khalistan flags from the Vidhan Sabha gate. It could be an act of some tourists from Punjab. We are going to register a case today: SP Kangra, Khushal Sharma
— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2022
As reported by news agency ANI, SP Kangra, Khushal Sharma said that the placement of flags might have happened late night on Saturday or early morning on Sunday. The flags have since been removed. “It could be an act of some tourists from Punjab,” he said and added that a case will be registered today.
Khalistani elements in Himachal Pradesh
Last week, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Himachal Pradesh social media president Harpreet Singh Bedi had deleted his Twitter account after his pro-Khalistan and secessionist tweets hailing Bhindranwale had gone viral on social media. Prior to that, in March 2022, Himachal Pradesh had banned entry of vehicles carrying flags of Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Many cars coming from Punjab were spotted with flags and images of Bhindranwale.
In July 2021, during the so-called farmer protest around Delhi border, as many as 20 journalists from Himachal Pradesh got a threatening pre-recorded calls from pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). The caller identifying himself as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun from the US, the general counsel for SFJ, warned that Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur should not be allowed to hoist the tricolour on Independence Day.
Khalistani elements claim parts of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, which formed part of Greater Punjab till 1966, as part of ‘Khalistan’, an idea supported by ISI backed separatists. They want to ‘liberate’ Himachal Pradesh and Haryana and ‘merge’ into ‘Khalistan’.
