Pro-khalistani slogans surface at Delhi metro stations

Police in Delhi have initiated an investigation after Pro-Khalistani slogans were discovered on pillars of Delhi metro stations on Sunday. The slogans, reportedly written by supporters of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a banned Sikh separatist group based in the United States, were found at Karol Bagh and Jhandewalan Metro Stations.

An FIR has been filed by the Delhi police, who have obtained CCTV footage from the Delhi Metro authorities to aid in their investigation. According to a security guard at a nearby building, the slogans, written in black paint, were noticed on the pillars of the metro station early Sunday morning.

"This slogans may have been written at night because no one was there at that time and no one saw who wrote these slogans," stated Bajrangi, the security guard, speaking to ANI.

This incident follows a similar occurrence in January this year, when Delhi Police apprehended a man for allegedly making pro-Khalistani graffiti on walls in Delhi's Tilak Nagar area. Last August, the Delhi Police Special Cell detained two individuals from Punjab in connection with pro-Khalistan graffiti and slogans painted at more than five metro stations in Delhi.

The Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 153A criminalizes and punishes making statements, speeches, or acts that disturb public tranquillity or law and order by promoting enmity or creating fear or alarm between classes of people on the basis of differences in religion, caste, language, or place of birth. Section 505 of the IPC similarly criminalizes making statements or reports that encourage offences against the state or disturb public tranquillity, among other actions.