One arrested & another detained in connection with pro-Khalistan slogans on Delhi Metro walls

New Delhi: In a recent development, Delhi Police have arrested one person and detained another in connection with the defacement of walls at four Delhi Metro stations with pro-Khalistan slogans.

The incident occurred just days before the upcoming G20 Summit, officials informed on Thursday. The accused has been identified as Preet Pal, who has been apprehended. The perpetrators are believed to have acted under the instructions of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of the banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) outfit, HGS Dhaliwal, Special CP Special Cell said.

The graffiti messages, reading “Delhi Banega Khalistan” (Delhi will become Khalistan) and “Khalistan Zindabad” (Long Live Khalistan), were discovered on the walls of Shivaji Park, Madipur, Paschim Vihar, Udyog Nagar, and Maharaja Surajmal Stadium Metro stations on August 27. Additionally, a government school wall in Nangloi was also found defaced with similar messages, Dhaliwal mentioned.

A video attributed to the Sikhs For Justice organisation displayed the vandalised Metro station walls. In the video, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was heard announcing, “G20 nations, when you will be meeting in Delhi on September 10, we will be organising a Khalistan referendum in Canada.”

According to officials, Preet Pal had maintained communication with Pannun for over a year and executed the graffiti on his orders. The accused individuals arrived in Delhi on August 26, painted the messages during the late hours of the night, and promptly returned to Punjab the following day. The paint used for the graffiti was reportedly procured from Barnala in Punjab, Dhaliwal said.

Two CCTV clips from a Delhi Metro station have surfaced on social media, capturing the act of an individual writing on the wall and photographing the defacement. These visuals have contributed to the ongoing investigation.

It has been revealed that Pannun communicated with Preet Pal via the Signal app, and the latter was promised a sum of USD 7,000 for carrying out the defacement. The police have emphasised that the accused were specifically instructed to choose prominent locations and paint the messages on multiple buildings to generate sensationalism, the officials said.

Initially, two First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed in connection with the incident, but these have since been transferred to the Special Cell of the Delhi Police for further inquiry.