Claims of Pro Khalistan posters & graffiti erected at places to be visited by G20 delegates are fake: PIB fact-check

Claims of SFJ, a banned organisation under UAPA for erecting pro-Khalistan posters and graffiti at places to be visited by G20 delegates in Delhi are fake, said PIB fact-check.

It's being claimed in a video that SFJ, a banned organisation under UAPA has erected pro Khalistan posters & graffiti at places to be visited by #G20 delegates in Delhi#PIBFactCheck

✔️This claim is #Fake

✔️No posters/graffiti have been put up at any G20 location pic.twitter.com/lIrO6wbZKB

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) September 5, 2023

SFJ purportedly released a video of the incident, in which its chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is seen talking about the graffiti. In a video clip, it is claimed that he stated, “(Prime Minister) Modi and India are targets.” The organization asserted that their associates visited approximately four to five Metro stations and conveyed a message to G20 nations through graffiti. In 2019, the central government enacted a prohibition on the organization known as SFJ due to its engagement in separatist endeavors. Despite its long-standing presence, SFJ’s most recent pursuit of secession was named ‘Referendum 2020,’ with the aim of achieving the “liberation of Punjab from Indian control.” Recently, fuelling security concerns ahead of the G20 Summit, which is set to be hosted in the national capital next month under India’s presidency, suspected activists of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a front for the separatist Khalistan Group, defaced more than five Metro stations with pro-Khalistan slogans, ANI reported. In pictures shared by Delhi Police, slogans are seen inscribed on the walls of Metro stations, reading “Delhi Banega Khalistan” and “Khalistan Zindabad”. “Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) also released raw footage of Delhi Metro stations which were defaced with pro-Khalistan slogans,” an officer was quoted by ANI as saying. “Suspected SFJ activists defaced multiple Metro stations in Delhi — from Shivaji Park to Punjabi Bagh — with pro-Khalistan slogans,” the officer added. Confirming the defacement of Metro stations, they were pursuing necessary action in the matter, as per law.