NIA court sentences two to 5.5 years jail for hoisting Khalistani flag at Moga DC's office

MOHALI: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Punjab's SAS Nagar (Mohali) has convicted and sentenced two men to over five years rigorous imprisonment in a 2020 case involving the hoisting of a Khalistani flag at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in the state's Moga, the agency said on Friday.

The convicted accused, identified as Inderjeet Singh and Jaspal Singh, both residents of Moga, have been awarded five years and six months of imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 16,000 each. The court found them guilty under multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act.

According to the NIA, the case relates to an incident on August 14, 2020, when the duo allegedly hoisted a Khalistani flag atop the Moga Deputy Commissioner’s office building, a day before Independence Day. Investigations revealed that the act was carried out at the instigation of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel of the banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), who has been designated as a terrorist by the Indian government.

The agency stated that the accused had accessed the administrative complex, climbed to the top of the building, and replaced the national flag with a saffron-yellow flag bearing the word 'KHALISTAN'. In the process, they allegedly cut the rope of the Indian tricolour, causing it to fall, and subsequently dragged it, amounting to an insult to the national flag.