On 18th August, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun for offering a reward of Rs 11 crore to Sikh soldiers to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi from hoisting the national flag at the Red Fort on Independence Day. Pannun is a US-based designated terrorist and founder of the banned Khalistani terror outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). OpIndia accessed the FIR registered by NIA in the matter.
Pannun held press meet in Pakistan via video conference, says FIR
OpIndia has accessed the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the NIA in the matter at New Delhi Police Station. The FIR has been registered on the instructions of the Home Ministry under Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Sections 10 and 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
In the FIR, the NIA mentioned that the case has been registered against Pannun based on credible information and a video retrieved from the official Sikhs For Justice account on the social media platform X. The video was released by SFJ on 10th August. Pannun, in the video, declared a reward to prevent PM Modi from hoisting the national flag at the Red Fort on 15th August 2025. He also unveiled a map of a “new Khalistan” that included Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Furthermore, he declared that SFJ has formed a “Shaheed Jatha” to fight against India. The FIR read, “By doing so, he indulged in activities aimed at disrupting the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India, while spreading disaffection among Sikhs against the country.”
The video mentioned by the agency was from the press meet “Meet the Press” organised at Lahore Press Club in Pakistan on 10th August 2025. He addressed the journalists present at the meet via a video link from Washington, US.
The FIR further recorded that “during the Press Meet, he also unveiled SFJ’s new ‘Delhi Banayga Khalistan’ Referendum Map which incorporates Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi into envisioned Khalistan.”
The FIR named “Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and other unknown persons” as accused, and the probe has been handed over to the NIA headquarters, New Delhi.
