By IANS,
Amritsar : Four years after they raised a Khalistani flag for a separate Sikh homeland, 19 Sikh activists have been charged with sedition by a court here.
The Khalistani flag was raised by the radical Dal Khalsa activists at a Sikh shrine here on Republic Day in 2005. They were booked by the police immediately but charges of sedition have been framed against them only now.
Those charged include Dal Khalsa leaders, its president Harcharanjit Singh Dhami, Kanwarpal Singh and Satnam Singh Paonta. Khalistani ideologue Jagjit Singh Chouhan was also booked on the same charges but this became infructuous as he died in April 2007.
The activists had shouted slogans demanding a separate Sikh homeland, Khalistan.
Dal Khalsa leader Kanwarpal Singh said they would challenge the charges.
“We will petition the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” he added.
The activists claimed that they had only raised a historical Sikh flag.