SAN FRANCISCO/LONDON: Pro-Chalistan Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) blockaded and besieged the Indian consulate in San Francisco, challenging India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) team visiting the US with a float depicting the assassination of Indira Gandhi by Satwant Singh and Beant Singh.
Hundreds of SFJ activists participated in the blockade and rally. The Khalistan Free Car rally commemorated the 35th anniversary of the martyrdom of Shaheed Satwant Singh and Shaheed Kehar Singh while traveling from Berkeley Marina to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, SFJ reported.
With more than 1,000 vehicles, the rally started at Marina Berkeley and proceeded towards the Consulate of India in San Francisco. Enthusiasm radiated from the participants as they passionately chanted slogans in support of Khalistan.
The Khalistan Freedom Car Rally, organized by the secessionist group SFJ ahead of the Jan. 28 Khalistan Referendum vote in San Francisco, serves as a stark reminder to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that “violence begets violence” at a time when – according to Indian media reports – the NIA team is currently visiting the US.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, General Counsel of SFJ, pointed out that Modi, who fueled the cycle of violence through the orchestrated assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, should remember the historical response of Sikhs to the violence unleashed by the Indian state on 31-1984.
Calling out India’s acts of violence, Punnun said, “Modi, who started the cycle of violence by orchestrating the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, must not forget October 31, 1984, when Sikhs always responded to violence perpetrated by the Indian state.”
The Khalistan Referendum voting campaign is organized under the supervision of the Independent Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC).
Voting began on October 31, 2021 from London, United Kingdom and has so far been held in several cities across the United Kingdom, Geneva in Switzerland, Rome and Milan (Italy), the Australian cities of Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney; and the Canadian cities of Brampton, Mississauga, Malton (Ontario) and Vancouver (British Columbia).
A team of four senior NIA officers is currently visiting the US to meet FBI officials and discuss cases such as the attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco and the extradition of Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana from Pakistan. The team is headed by a DIG officer from the Mumbai branch.
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During his December 11-12 visit to India, the first by an FBI director in 12 years, Christopher A Wray held discussions with NIA director Dinkar Gupta and other officials of the central agency at their headquarters.
Ahead of the meeting, NIA officials prepared presentations on various issues, including cases and evidence against Rana for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
The presentations also covered the case of American gangster Darmanjot Singh Kahlon, who supplied weapons for the attack on Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewal, and Khalistan supporters accused of vandalizing the Indian consulate in San Francisco in March last year.
During his meeting at NIA headquarters, FBI Director Wray engaged in frank discussions on various issues, including the activities of terrorist organized crime networks.
The talks also covered the ongoing US investigation related to the attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco, as well as investigations into cyber terrorism and cyber crimes. The FBI has assured the NIA of its aggressive investigation into the San Francisco consulate attack.
