Ahead of G20 Summit, pro-Khalistan messages found written on Delhi Metro property

PTI, Aug 27, 2023, 5:35 PM IST

Representative image (source: PTI)

New Delhi: Ahead of the G20 Summit, pro-Khalistan messages were found in at least five Delhi Metro stations, officials said on Sunday. A senior police officer said unidentified people wrote ”Delhi Banega Khalistan” and ”Khalistan Zindabad” on the walls of the metro stations.

Police sources identified the stations as Shivaji Park, Madipur, Paschim Vihar, Udyog Nagar, and Maharaja Surajmal Stadium. A wall of a government school in Nangloi was also found defaced.

Legal action is being taken, the officer said, adding that the CCTV camera footage of the areas near the five metro stations is being analysed to identify the culprits.

A purported video was released by the banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) which showed the defaced walls of the metro stations.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, spokesperson for the SFJ, said in the video, ”G20 nations, when you will be meeting in Delhi on September 10, we will be organising a Khalistan referendum in Canada.”

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said the issue has been reported to the concerned law and order agencies.

#WATCH | Pro-Khalistan slogans written on the wall of Maharaja Surajmal Stadium Metro Station are being removed by the Delhi Police https://t.co/2mcKBfqJw3 pic.twitter.com/ss7UnKJM5o

— ANI (@ANI) August 27, 2023

”Some objectionable graffiti has been observed on the outer walls of some of our metro stations on the Green Line. The issue has been reported to the concerned law and order agencies. All necessary cooperation is being extended to them from DMRC’s side,” said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director of corporate communication of DMRC.

The alleged action comes ahead of the G20 Summit on September 9-10. On January 19, ahead of the Republic Day, ”anti-national” and ”Khalistan-related” graffiti appeared on walls in some areas of west Delhi, including Vikaspuri, Janakpuri, Paschim Vihar, and Peeragarhi, police said.

The walls were painted with slogans like ”Khalistan Zindabad” and ”Referendum 2020”. The Delhi Police’s Special Cell arrested two men in connection with the incidents.

Pro-Khalistan slogans written on the wall of more than 5 metro stations in Delhi | Case registered under sections section 153 A, section 505 and Defacement Act: Ram Gopal Naik, DCP Metro https://t.co/2mcKBfqJw3

— ANI (@ANI) August 27, 2023