Khalistan banners at Himachal Assembly: Accused in police custody till May 16

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, May 12

The police presented Harbir Singh, who was yesterday arrested from Morinda in Ropar district of Punjab for allegedly hanging Khalistan banners on the main gate of the Vidhan Sabha complex in Dharamsala on May 8, in the court of judicial magistrate Shivangi Joshi at Dharamsala today. The judge remanded Harbir Singh in police custody till May 16.

Taken to places where planning was made

He was taken to places where he was expected to have planned to deface the Vidhan Sabha complex

Earlier, police officials took Harbir to various places where he was expected to have stayed, planned and executed his plan to deface the Vidhan Sabha complex with Khalistan posters.

The police officials remained tight-lipped about the developments due to gag order by the police headquarters over passing any information to the media regarding the case. Sources, however, said the police were trying to extract information at whose behest Harbir Singh and his accomplice Paramjit Singh had committed the crime.

Another accused in the case Paramjit Singh, a resident of Rurhki Heera village in Chamkaur Sahib of Ropar, was still absconding. A raid was conducted at the house of Paramjit Singh but the raiding party failed to arrest him as he fled from the house.

The police had booked US-based NRI Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel to th eSikhs for Justice, in the case registered for hanging Khalistan banners on the main gate of the Vidhan Sabha complex at Tapovan in Dharamsala. Pannun has been made the main accused in the case. The police had registered a case under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Sections 153-A, 153-B of the IPC and Section 3 of the HP Open Spaces (prevention of disfigurement) Act 1985 in the case against Pannun and other accused.