My brother was jailed for serving langar to anti-CAA protesters: sister of detained Kashmir Sikh youth

By Auqib Javeed, TwoCircles.net

Srinagar: For nearly a month now, Sandeep Kour hasn’t heard a word from her brother Mohinderpal Singh. Her anxiety grows every day as she is not able to meet him.


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Her brother, Mohinderpal Singh, a 29-year-old Kashmiri Sikh youth is behind bars in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail. He was arrested by the Delhi police for alleged links with militant outfit Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF) on June 15.

Singh, a resident from Diwan Beg village of Baramulla district in north Kashmir, was arrested along with two others and claimed the accused were planning to execute targeted killings in various northern States.

According to Delhi Police, the accused have been identified as Mohinder Pal Singh, 29, a resident of Delhi, Gurtej Singh, 41, from Punjab and Lovepreet, 21, from Haryana.

However, the family members of the Kashmiri Sikh youth have refuted the claim of Delhi police and alleged he is being “framed” in a “fabricated case”

The family is claiming that he was targeted solely for serving langar to the anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi.

“These guys were just serving langar and were sent to jail by tagging them as extremists by the Special Cell of Delhi police and imposing severe sections against them,” Sandeep Kour told TwoCircles.net.

She said that her brother had come to Delhi to study from Kashmir and is a very wholehearted & kind person. “He always remains ready to help indigent people with whatever he can,” she said.

“On 15 June when he was returning home from Uttam Nagar Gurudwara Sahib with one of his friends Gurpreet Singh on a bike, Rohini police intercepted them and took them away,” she said.

Kour says when Singh didn’t return home till late night, they started searching for him and at around 2 am Gurpreet called at his home and informed them that Rohini Police special cell has detained them.

“I was shocked and we reached the police station in the morning. The cops told us that they were taken for mere questioning but later they released Gurpreet and registered FIR against Mohinderpal Singh,” she said.

According to her, Gurpreet Singh was released in two days, but her brother, Mohinderpal Singh and two others were booked under Arms Act.

Mohinderpal Singh is a professional tabla vadak at a local Gurudwara in New Delhi.

“During this COVID-19 pandemic he was serving langar (food) for almost 500 people on a daily basis,” Kour told TwoCircles.net.

Singh, according to his sister, studied at Gurunanak Public School, Baramulla till 10th standard. He moved to Delhi for further studies and was living with his sister in Chander Vihar area of New Delhi.

His parents at Baramulla have no clue why their son was detained. All they know about their son is that he was a helpful person and would go to any length to help people.

“They are very disturbed and I keep them updated. I don’t why my brother was arrested and nobody is even telling us,” Kour said.

She says they are unable to meet Gurpreet and police is not even handing a copy of the FIR to the lawyer.

“My brother has been kept at Tihar Jail number 8, whereas Luvpreet Singh & Gurtej Singh have been kept at Mandoli Jail,” she says adding that “nothing came fourth in Monday’s hearing so 7 August has been fixed for next hearing,” she said.

According to her, the copy of registered FIR (154/20) has not been provided yet “but as per information received they have been booked under the Arms Act. Section 24, 54, 59 and later UAPA sections 13, 18, 20 & 120B & 201 were added,” she said.

The police have claimed that the accused disclosed their links with Khalistan Liberation Force leaders and “revealed plans to commit target-killings on instructions from Khalistani militants” sponsored by Pakistan’s intelligence wing, ISI, reported The Hindu.

Speaking with the newspaper, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said, “Police got a tip-off regarding the activities of one Mohinder, a sympathizer of Khalistan Liberation Front, who was planning to commit a terrorist activity in the national capital after which a trap was laid near Hastsal on June 15 and around 9 pm, Mohinder was arrested.”

Three pistols and seven live cartridges were recovered from the men. Three phones with many incriminating videos and photographs related to Khalistani movement were also recovered from them, police said.

The police in their investigation also claims to have found several videos/audio clips “promoting Khalistan terrorism, and several pictures of arms and ammunition in the accused’s a mobile phone”.

Kour has appealed Sikh leadership of Delhi & Punjab to come forward to help these “innocent Sikhs” so that they may not “rot in jail” for crimes they have never committed.

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