Pannun aide who wrote graffiti held

State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) Mohali arrested Resham Singh, a key operative of the banned outfit, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), and a close aide of US-based head of SFJ Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, for his alleged involvement in vandalising the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in Phillaur and executing a series of pro-Khalistan graffiti across the state.

Preliminary investigation revealed that acting on the directions of US-based Surinder Singh Thikriwal — a wanted criminal in multiple UAPA cases — and SFJ chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, the arrested accused, who belongs to Hamidi village in Barnala, had vandalised the statue of Dr Ambedkar at Nangal in Phillaur in the first week of June.

Resham Singh, who is also accused of repeatedly defacing public property with pro-Khalistan and pro-SFJ graffiti in districts, including Patiala, Faridkot, Jalandhar and other districts, had been at large since the incident.

“During the Indo-Pak escalation in May 2025, Resham Singh painted inflammatory slogans such as ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ to create public unrest and promote anti-national sentiments,” said the DGP Gaurav Yadav, adding that evidence also indicates the accused was receiving foreign funding to carry out these unlawful activities.

Yadav said the accused had previously been arrested in two UAPA cases — registered in Karnal and Sangrur — for painting anti-national graffiti.