Punjab Police’s State Special Operation Cell on Wednesday arrested Resham Singh — a key operative of the banned separatist outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) — for his involvement in multiple acts of vandalism and pro-Khalistan propaganda across the State, including the defacement of Dr BR Ambedkar’s statue in Phillaur.

The arrest is part of a larger effort spearheaded by the Punjab Government, aimed at ensuring peace and lawfulness in the border state that continues to face threats from foreign-based secessionist elements.

The state Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Wednesday said that Resham Singh, a native of Hamidi village in Barnala, had been acting on the directives of Surinder Singh Thikriwal – a UAPA-wanted criminal currently residing in the USA, and SFJ chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. “He vandalized the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in Phillaur’s Nangal locality in early June 2025, using black spray paint and placing Khalistani flags and graffiti in the vicinity,” the DGP said.

Resham, the DGP revealed, had also painted pro-Khalistan and anti-national slogans like “Pakistan Zindabad” and “Khalistan Zindabad” during the Indo-Pak escalation in May 2025, in an attempt to incite communal unrest and provoke anti-national sentiments. “He was receiving funding from abroad, and preliminary investigations suggest he received Rs eight to 10 lakh from his handlers to carry out these acts,” added the DGP.

AIG SSOC Mohali Ravjot Grewal, sharing insights from the intelligence-led operation, said that Resham Singh was traced and arrested from Kharar in Mohali, where he was hiding with the help of his handler Thikriwal. “Our team acted on specific intelligence and launched surveillance before moving in. The accused was apprehended without resistance,” she said.

Grewal said that Resham Singh was no novice to such activities. He was previously arrested under UAPA charges in Karnal (Haryana) and Sangrur (Punjab) for similar graffiti campaigns. After serving nearly two years in Sangrur Jail, he was released in May 2024, but soon resumed his activities under the influence of Thikriwal, an ex-terrorist who fled to the USA in 2022.

Initial interrogation has unearthed a disturbing network and timeline of his acts. Between May 2024 and June 2025, Resham Singh carried out a series of pro-Khalistan and anti-national graffiti campaigns across Punjab. He began by imprinting “SFJ Khalistan” on Patiala-Sangrur Highway flyover (May 2024), followed by painting “Khalistan Zindabad – SFJ” on the Nehru Stadium wall in Faridkot (January 2025) along with a Khalistani flag. In May 2025, he defaced Khurdpur Railway Station, Jalandhar, with slogans including “Pakistan Zindabad” and “Trump Zindabad,” and placed a provocative banner welcoming the Pakistan Army. In June, he vandalized Dr BR Ambedkar’s statue in Phillaur with black spray paint and SFJ graffiti. Earlier, in March, he had painted similar slogans on the walls of Central University in Bathinda. Most recently, in June 2025, he defaced the Dr Ambedkar Housing Society in SAS Nagar with inflammatory slogans and hoisted a divisive flag reading “Sikh Hindu Nahi”.

AIG Grewal further disclosed that Resham was inducted into the SFJ ecosystem in 2019 through Harpreet Singh alias Rana, the USA-based operator of the now-banned channel “Politics Punjab”. Through Rana, Resham was introduced to core SFJ members including Bikramjit Singh, JS Dhaliwal, and eventually Pannu himself.

As per police investigations, after each graffiti campaign or act of vandalism, Resham would record videos and forward them to his foreign handlers, which were later circulated on digital platforms to fuel secessionist propaganda.

A case FIR, dated June 18, 2025, has been registered under Sections 151, 196, and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at SSOC Police Station, SAS Nagar. Further investigations are underway to uncover deeper linkages and identify other operatives in the network.

Important Disclosures by Accused Resham Singh