Three Arrested for Pro-Khalistan Graffiti at Jahangirpuri, Shastri Nagar Metro Stations
Three people, including a woman, were arrested by Delhi Police for allegedly defacing Jahangirpuri and Shastri Nagar metro stations with pro-Khalistan graffiti on directions from handlers linked to the banned Sikhs For Justice outfit.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Narra Chaitanya said on Sunday that the accused were promised substantial financial rewards for writing separatist slogans at prominent metro locations. The arrestees have been identified as Sumeet alias Raftar, 30, a resident of Panipat in Haryana, alongside Sumit Kumar alias Kaka, 22, and Gurpreet, 22, both residents of Punjab.
Pro-Khalistan slogans were found near Gate No 1 of Jahangirpuri metro station on October 29. Similar graffiti was discovered on the inner wall of a staircase near Gate No 2 of Shastri Nagar metro station the following day. According to police, the slogans referenced SFJ and pro-Khalistan ideology while issuing threats of retaliation against individuals described as traitors to the community.
The investigation initially traced Sumeet, which led officers to two accomplices based in Ludhiana. Police said Kumar was the alleged mastermind, having been radicalised by SFJ sympathisers in Ludhiana and Gurdaspur before an associate instructed him to download an encrypted messaging app. A key SFJ member allegedly shared templates for the graffiti over the platform and offered Kumar financial compensation to execute the vandalism at Delhi metro stations.
Kumar subsequently recruited Sumeet and Gurpreet to carry out the defacements. After travelling from Ludhiana by taxi, the three arrived at ISBT Kashmere Gate on October 29. Sumeet allegedly proceeded to Jahangirpuri metro station to paint the slogans, recorded a video of the defacement, and transmitted the footage to his handlers. Kumar and Gurpreet allegedly carried out the vandalism at Shastri Nagar metro station during the intervening night of October 28 and 29.
Investigators established that Kumar and Gurpreet had known each other for about four years after meeting at a hotel in Samalkha, Panipat, where she was employed, and later began living together. Gurpreet, who had also worked at a salon in Zirakpur, was allegedly brought to Delhi under the pretext of a shopping trip before being told about the metro vandalism plan.
Police added that Sumeet also allegedly painted graffiti near the GTK Bypass under Samaypur Badli police station on October 30, which is being investigated separately. DCP Chaitanya stated that further investigation is underway to identify additional individuals in the network and establish the roles of the handlers behind the operation.
