Two Sikh groups clash during ‘referendum’ in US

New Delhi, February 3

Videos have appeared on the social media with captions suggesting that there was a scuffle among two opposing groups of Sikhs involved with the Khalistan referendum in San Francisco on January 28. The brief but violent fight on video was captioned as having occurred between ‘Major Singh Nijjar gang and Sarabjit Singh (Sabi) gang’ after the former had been sidelined by Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).

The so-called referendum did take place in San Francisco, but there are no reports in the local media about a fight between the two Sikh groups. On the other hand, San Francisco Herald wrote of ‘thousands of Sikhs arriving in San Francisco in cars, buses and trains on Sunday to vote for a new country of their own’ and waiting patiently for hours for their turn to vote.

The report also featured an American, Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, said to be co-founder of the SFJ. Pannun describes himself as the ‘general counsel’ of the SFJ. Sandhu is better known as ‘council of Khalistan president’, who was active in organising the so-called referendums in Canada last year. Pannun and Sandhu have together submitted dossiers at the UN, alleging that New Delhi is ‘enforcing Indian nationalism on the Sikhs of India to distort their culture and history’.