Dharamsala: Posters of Khalistan on Sunday surfaced at the main entrance of the state legislative Assembly campus in this Himachal Pradesh town, home to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, the police said.
The posters, written in Punjabi, surfaced in the morning. Also the wall near the gate was inscribed with the word Khalistan, a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state.
Dharamsala is some 250 km from the state capital.
The police said investigations were on and also asked the locals not to feel threatened by the posters.
“It is an act by some mischievous elements carried out in the night,” a senior police official told IANS.
The legislative Assembly in Dharamsala has been hosting the winter session annually outside the state capital since 2005.
Himachal seals borders, police on high alert
On Sunday, the state police issued orders to seal the interstate borders.
Police registered an FIR under sections 153-A and 153-B of IPC, section 3 of HP Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1985, and section 13 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) at Dharamshala Police station after the ‘Khalistan’ flags incident.
Police booked banned outfit ‘Sikhs for Justice’ (SFJ) general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and called him the ‘main accused’ in the case.
“ADGP-CID, IG/DIG Ranges and District SPs have been directed to seal all interstate borders/barriers and keep strict vigil at the places of probable hideouts i.e. hotels and sarais etc. They have been directed to keep the Special Security Units (SsUs), Bomb Disposal Squads and Quick Reactions Teams (QRTs) in position and on high alert and strengthen the security of dams, railway stations, bus stands, towns, government building and vital installations,” the statement added.
The field formations have been directed to sensitize all the security staff and chowkidars of government buildings, banks, and public sector undertakings with regard to the threat and they may be advised to report any matter of concern to the local police station immediately.
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