Indian police investigating last month's twin cinema bomb attacks in Delhi are expanding their probe to Canada following the arrest of a militant in the Babbar Khalsa terror group, which has been blamed for the Air India disaster.
Other terror groups with strong Canadian links which are part of the investigation include the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), all of which are reportedly renewing their fight for a separate Sikh homeland.
| A scene from the movie Jo Bole So Nihal |
One person was killed and over 50 injured in the cinema blasts on May 22 at the Liberty and Satyam Multiplex halls in Delhi where the controversial Bollywood movie Jo Bole So Nihal was being screened.
The movie has sparked outrage worldwide because many Sikhs believe the title, which is a religious chant, denigrates the faith. The Shirmani Guruwara Prabhandak Committee, the Sikhs' highest authority, has condemned the movie which shows a Sikh being chased by scantily clad women.
Indian police who pored over two million calls made in the vicinity of the cinemas prior to the bomb blasts announced this week that they had arrested four suspects in connection with the case. Two of the suspects were identified Babbar Khalsa members Balwinder Singh and Jatinder Singh.
The other two Bahadur Singh, 24, and Gurdeep Singh, 20, were arrested at Mallpur village west of the Indian capital, where one kilogram of RDX explosives and detonators were found, the police said.
In a separate arrest police rounded up an operative of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) who was carrying 5.5 kilogram of RDX with detonators that was destined for Delhi. Literally meaning "Army of the Pure", the Lashkar-e-Toiba is a brutal Pakistani terrorist group.
Piecing together past links, cell phone contacts prior to the May 22 blasts and investigations into renewed Sikh militancy activities, Indian police said the cinema bombing probe is pointing to links in Canada, U.K. and Germany.
| A scene from the movie Jo Bole So Nihal |
The senior police officer was quoted in Indian media as saying, "It is a very clever game being played by Pakistan-based terrorist groups to confuse the security agencies and also to ignite the moribund Sikh militancy by fomenting their religious sentiments."
He however confirmed that the activities of the Babbar Khalsa, ISYF and KCF, and their connections overseas has become part of the investigation.
One of the suspects connected to the cinema attacks who is still at large was identified as Babbar Khalsa explosive expert Jaspal Singh, whose brother lives in Canada.
Indian police said telephone calls made in the vicinity of the cinemas around the time of the bomb attacks have also been traced to Satnam Singh, the Stuttgart based son-in-law of Wadhwa Singh Babbar, who is the current Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) chief.
The Babbar Khalsa was founded by Talwinder Singh Parmar a former resident of Burnaby B.C. who was an Air India bombing suspect when he was killed in the custody of Panjab police in 1992.
| Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale |
A group purporting to be a new version of the Babbar Khalsa International terrorist group was recruiting on the Internet last year in Canada.
Babbar Khalsa was a registered non-profit organization in B.C., whose directors lived in Kamloops prior to it being banned as a terrorist group in Canada two years ago.
The International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) which was also banned at the same time is another group under scrutiny by Indian police after last month's bombings.
Indian police allege the ISYF is headed Jasbir Singh Rhode, who lives in Vancouver and said to be close to LeT--the Pakistan-based Islamic terrorist group whose operative was found carrying explosives to Delhi last month. Rhode is the nephew of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale--the man who precipitated Operation Blue Star, the Indian army operation to flush out militants from Sikh's holiest shrine in Amritsar 21 years ago.
The ISYF reportedly has factions in Surrey and Abbotsford.
Indian media reported recently that there is a resurgence of Bhindranwale's followers after he was declared a martyr by a Sikh high priest two years ago.
Four ISYF members were also convicted of the 1986 assassination attempt on Vancouver Island of a visiting Punjabi cabinet minister who was later slain in India.
The third terror network with strong Canadian links cited by Indian police investigating the cinema blasts is the Khalistan Commando Force headed by Paramjit Singh Panjwar.
Last September, Indian police alleged that "large amounts" of money was sent from Canada to help Khalistan Commando Force terrorist, Gurusewak Babla escape from police custody.
As a teenager, Babla was inspired and guided by Bhindranwale, who was the focus of the Indian raids on the Golden Temple. Babla has been implicated in more than 48 killings.
The Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), which has a strong presence in Canada, is believed to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, many of them police officers and their families in the Panjab.
Some segments of B.C.'s Sikh community strongly believe that the KCF was involved in the murder of controversial Surrey newspaper editor Tara Singh Hayer in 1998 and that it collected money to hire assassins for the job. The Canadian spy agency (CSIS) has been tracking members of the KCF in Canada over the last two decades.
In 1996, Sarabjit Singh Bhatti, a KCF member was deported back to India from Vancouver. Bhatti, then 29, got refugee status by claiming the Indian government was persecuting him because he was a member of the All-India Sikh Students Federation.
In another case, a B.C. woman found murdered in India in 1999, was reportedly part of a terrorist movement which raised funds at Canadian Sikh temples.
Gurbax Kaur, also known as Baksho Kaur Dhillon of Surrey was linked to the Babbar Khalsa and the KCF. Her family has denied the claims.
Meanwhile RCMP said they would monitor cinemas showing the movie Jo Bole So Nihal that has caused the recent worldwide outrage and bloodshed.
There was a small protest at a Surrey cinema last month while the movie was being shown. Many Indo-Canadians who have seen the movie described it as shallow and obscene.
