New Delhi: The Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested three individuals for attempting to turn metro stations in the national capital into platforms for anti-national activities. A young woman is among those arrested. The accused are alleged to have damaged government property by painting objectionable slogans in support of the banned organisation ‘Sikhs for Justice’ (SFJ) and the Khalistan ideology at the Jahangirpuri and Shastri Nagar metro stations. The police are now actively searching for the handlers and other associates behind this conspiracy.
DCP (Special Cell) Nara Chaitanya stated that the arrested individuals have been identified as Sumeet alias ‘Raftaar’ (30), a resident of Panipat, Haryana; Sumit Kumar alias ‘Kaka’ (22), from Gurdaspur, Punjab; and Gurpreet (22), from Hoshiarpur, Punjab. According to the police, pro-Khalistan slogans were discovered on October 29 near Gate No. 1 of the Jahangirpuri metro station, and on October 30 on the inner wall of the staircase at Gate No. 2 of the Shastri Nagar metro station.
CCTV footage exposes the accused
Given the gravity of the matter, the Northern Range of the Special Cell took over the investigation. Through the examination of CCTV footage, local intelligence, and technical analysis, the police first apprehended Sumeet alias ‘Raftaar’. Subsequent interrogation revealed the involvement of two other associates linked to Punjab, leading to the arrests of Sumit Kumar alias ‘Kaka’ and Gurpreet.
Alleged task received via an encrypted app
According to the police, Sumit Kumar alias ‘Kaka’ had been influenced by supporters of ‘Sikhs for Justice’ (SFJ) through contacts on social media. He was allegedly lured with the promise of a large sum of money to paint slogans at metro stations, after being instructed to download an encrypted messaging app. It is alleged that he roped in Gurpreet and Sumeet for this task. While Sumeet painted slogans in Jahangirpuri and sent a video of the act to his handlers, Sumeet and Gurpreet carried out a similar act at the Shastri Nagar metro station.
Scope of investigation expands; other locations also under scrutiny
During interrogation, it was revealed that slogans were also painted near the GTK Bypass, within the jurisdiction of the Samaypur Badli police station, on October 30; this incident is currently under investigation. The operation was conducted under the leadership of Narra Chaitanya, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) for the Special Cell. The team included Inspectors Anukul Panwar and Parveen Kumar, with supervision provided by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Rahul Kumar Singh. The police are now working to identify the alleged handlers, trace the funding, and uncover the links within the entire network.
