The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has listed "increase in Khalistan activities" and recent arms dropping by Pakistani drones as top challenges for security agencies.
This was stated by NIA top officer Inspector General (IG) Alok Mittal in an elaborate presentation made to the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) and Special Task Force (STF) on Monday. NIA has said, "On directions from Pakistan, there is an attempt to create communal disharmony."
NIA referred to the Referendum 2020 led by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) as a game plan by Pakistan to revive Khalistani militancy in Punjab. Addressing officers on Monday, IG Alok Mittal said that there was propaganda on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to radicalise Sikh youths.
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Speaking further, he said that there were "links not just from Pakistan but from pro-Khalistani groups in countries such as the US, Canada, UK and Australia. NIA is investigating links between Khalistani elements and pro-Pakistan separatists.
NIA, which has recently taken over the investigation into the arms drop at Punjab border, talked of a well-oiled mechanism by Pakistan. NIA has also probed targeted killings of RSS leaders in Punjab from 2016-2017 in which 8 cases were registered and 16 people have been arrested. NIA stated that in some of the cases, the weapons were procured from Western UP while the money trail was from the UK, Italy, France and Australia.