Chandigarh: Punjab police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested Resham Singh, a key operative of banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and close aide of USA-based head of SFJ Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, for his involvement in vandalising the statue of Dr B R Ambedkar in Phillaur and executing a series of pro-Khalistan graffiti across the state.
Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that acting on the directions of USA-based Surinder Singh Thikriwal - a wanted criminal in multiple UAPA cases - and SFJ chief Pannun, the arrested accused, who belongs to village Hamidi in Barnala, had vandalised the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar at Nangal in Phillaur in the first week of June 2025.
He said that accused Resham Singh, who is also accused of repeatedly defacing public property with pro-Khalistan and pro-SFJ graffiti in districts including Patiala, Faridkot, Jalandhar and other districts, had been absconding since the incident.
âDuring the Indo-Pak escalation in May 2025, he painted inflammatory slogans such as âPakistan Zindabadâ and âKhalistan Zindabadâ to incite public unrest and promote anti-national sentiments,â said the DGP.
DGP Yadav further said that the arrested accused had previously been arrested in two UAPA cases - registered in Karnal (Haryana) and Sangrur - for painting anti-national graffiti.
Meanwhile, the police also said that the probe has revealed that after each act, accused Resham used to record videos and send them to his handlers abroad, who used them to fuel secessionist propaganda. Till now the accused has received around Rs 8 to 10 lakh from his foreign based handlers, she added.
