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The Delhi Police has arrested a 30-year-old man and detained one more in connection with writing pro-Khalistan messages on the walls of four Delhi Metro stations ahead of the G20 Summit, officials said on Thursday.
At a press conference in New Delhi, police said the accused carried out the act on the directions of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the chief of the banned United States-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) outfit.
Police said while Pritpal Singh has been arrested, Rajvinder Singh was detained. Rajvinder Singh is being brought to Delhi and will be produced before a court.
Pro-Khalistan messages -- 'Delhi Banega Khalistan' and 'Khalistan Zindabad' -- were found on the walls of Shivaji Park, Madipur, Paschim Vihar, Udyog Nagar, and Maharaja Surajmal Stadium metro stadiums on August 27.
A wall of a government school in Nangloi was also found defaced.
A purported video was released by the Sikhs for Justice which showed the defaced walls of the metro stations.
In it, Pannun was heard saying, 'G20 nations, when you will be meeting in Delhi on September 10, we will be organising a Khalistan referendum in Canada.'
On August 27, after it was learnt that Pannun had posted some videos showing the pro-Khalistan graffiti, a Special Cell team visited the spots and examined CCTV footage, a senior police officer said.
Two cases were registered at separate police stations but they were later transferred to the Special Cell, he said.
"On scanning CCTV footage, two suspects were spotted near the graffiti spots making videos," Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) HGS Dhaliwal said, adding that some mobile numbers of the Punjab network were found moving at these locations at the time of the crime.
"Those numbers were placed on interception and a team went to Bhatinda. On Wednesday, Pritpal Singh was arrested," he said.
Dhaliwal said Pritpal came in contact with Pannun through social media.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pritpal Singh saw a social media post mentioning a helpline, the official said, adding that the post was shared by a pro-Khalistan person who was an associate of Pannun.
On the helpline, Pritpal sent his own name as well as those of his family members and received Rs 5,000 for each name, Dhaliwal said.
In early 2022, he got a mobile number from Pannun through social media and found it on the Signal app. Around 15 days later, they were communicating through text messages and gradually started speaking on voice calls, the official added.
According to police, Pannun also used to tell Pritpal about the movements of VVIPs.
In June 2022, Pannun sent Rs 90,000 to Pritpal for his uncle's treatment. Pritpal had already received close to Rs 2 lakh from Pannun by then, Dhaliwal said.
A month ago, Pannun tasked Pritpal with painting pro-Khalistan graffiti in Delhi before the G-20 summit and offered him $7,000 for the job, police said.
Pritpal convinced Rajvinder, who was working at his office as a labourer, to assist him and offered him half the money, they said.
The duo purchased paint from Barnala and reached New Delhi on August 26 morning.
They undertook some reconnaissance in the city till 3 pm and finalised the metro stations of west Delhi as their targets, Dhaliwal said.
They were at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib till 5 pm, he said, adding that around 7 pm, they took a bus to the Shivaji Park metro station, police said.
They painted the graffiti on the walls of metro stations between Shivaji Park and Maharaja Surajmal, hired an auto-rickshaw to the Safdarjang railway station and took a train to Bhatinda, Dhaliwal added.
The duo had been directed to choose prominent locations so that it could be 'sensationalised', police said.