Security was beefed up in Delhi after a new video surfaced of Khalistani extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun threatening to blow up the new Parliament building on December 13, the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on the Parliament, in response to the purported failed 'assassination plot' against him. The threats have also surfaced while the winter session of the Parliament is underway.
In the video, Pannun, the chief of the banned outfit Sikhs For Justice, was seen standing before a poster of 2001 attack convict Afzal Guru with a caption that read, “Delhi Banega Khalistan”. He is heard saying that a conspiracy to kill him by the Indian agencies had failed and he will respond to the plot by attacking the Parliament building on December 13.
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The Delhi Police has been on alert since the video surfaced, as there are also some reports that he is mobilising people to execute the attack. According to a News18 report, the US, UK and Canada are also probing into the matter to understand how Pannun, a designated terrorist, was provoking sentiments to repeat the Parliament attacks.
US authorities had raised concerns with New Delhi that the Indian government may have had knowledge of the plot, an official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Earlier this week, an unnamed Indian official appeared in an indictment filed by federal prosecutors in a Manhattan court along with an Indian national, who the Department of Justice alleged hired someone in the US to assassinate Pannun, a vocal critic of India and espousing the cause of a separate Khalistan.
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This is not the first time Pannun has threatened to carry out an attack. An earlier video apparently showed the SFJ chief pointing towards a graffiti on the walls, alleging that the Congress leaders involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots would not be spared.
He also released video messages on social media platforms on November 4 asking Sikhs not to fly on Air India planes on and after November 19, claiming that there was a threat to their lives if they flew on the airline's aircraft. He also threatened that Air India would not be allowed to operate globally.
The NIA registered a case against Pannun and his banned organisation, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), for issuing the video messages.
2001 Indian Parliament Attack
On December 13, 2001, five armed assailants drove into the House of Parliament in a vehicle that had Home Ministry and Parliament labels, rammed into then Vice President Krishnan Kant's car, got out and began shooting. More than 100 people, including many politicians, were believed to be inside the building at the time of the attack. Six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel and a gardener were killed.
The terrorists carried AK47 rifles, grenade launchers, and pistols to carry out the attack. All five terrorists who infiltrated the Parliament premises using fake labels and weapons were shot down by the Vice President's guards and security personnel.
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This happened just a month after a similar attack took place in Srinagar in which 38 people were killed. Indian authorities had accused Pakistan-based terrorist outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) of being behind the attack. However, LeT denied involvement.
