The Government of India on Tuesday has ordered to attach the properties of US-based Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) leader and designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun under Section 51A of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
However, this is the first time that the government has attached property under the UAPA since its amendment last year.
Earlier in July, Pannun, along with eight other men, was designated a terrorist by the Union home ministry. Pannun has been running a campaign against India and motivating Sikh youngsters in his home state Punjab to join militancy, the government said.
The others designated as individual terrorists under UAPA include - Paramjit Singh of Babbar Khalsa International, Hardeep Singh Nijjar of Khalistan Tiger Force, Gurmit Singh Bagga of Khalistan Zindabad Force, and Ranjeet Singh from the same outfit.
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The properties of Pannun and Nijjar in Punjab’s Amritsar and Jalandhar respectively will be attached, the government order said.
The order has been issued after the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is investigating the campaign being run by SFJ, approached the government for attachment of these properties. The NIA said that SFJ, a secessionist organization, is running a concerted campaign “for creation of so-called Khalistan”.
Last September, the first four terrorists to be declared as individual terrorists under the changed provisions of UAPA were - Maulana Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed, Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi and Dawood Ibrahim.