Canada Breaks Silence On Sikhs for Justice's Threat To Air India, Says 'We Are Investigating'
Canadian authorities have finally broken their silence on the threat issued by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the chief of banned terror outfit Sikhs for Justice, warning Sikhs not to fly Air India starting November 19.
Canada's Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez on Thursday said that the federal police are investigating the threat videos circulating online.
What Canadian minister said?
"We take every threat seriously, especially when it concerns airlines," the minister said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he added, "is doing an investigation."
How Pannu threatened India
In a video that surfaced online, US-based Pannu, who has been designated as a terrorist by the Indian government, warned Sikhs, "Don't fly Air India after November 19; your lives may be in danger."
"We are asking the Sikh people not to fly via Air India. From November 19, there will be a global blockade. Air India won't be allowed to operate. Sikh people, don't travel by Air India after November 19. Your life can be in danger," Pannun said in the video.
Why Pannu's threat reminded of Kanishka bombing?
The threat brought back memories of the Air India Kanishka Bombing of 1985 when Canada-based Khalistan terrorists blew up an aircraft carrying 329, mostly Indian citizens and Canadians of Indian origin.
Despite mounting evidence to implicate them, most Khalistan terrorists involved in the worst terror attack in Canada's history got away with their act.
What Indian authorities are doing
Following Pannu's threat video, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has ordered extra security checks for Air India flights in Punjab and Delhi airports.
The BCAS has requested additional security checks for all Air India flights at airports in Punjab and the national capital.
"A 100 per cent SLPC (Secondary Ladder Point Check) for all Air India flights at IGI Airport and airports in Punjab, issue of Temporary Airport Entry Pass (TAEP), entry of visitors to the terminal building of the IGI (Indira Gandhi International) airport (in Delhi) and sale of visitors' entry tickets will be banned," the circular read.
Secondary Ladder Point Checking (SLPC) is a secondary-level security procedure mandated by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) under which the airline staff have to frisk passengers and their hand luggage after the security clearance from the CISF just before boarding the aircraft.
The order further reads that in view of the continuous threat messages being shared by Central security agencies regarding threats to Civil Aviation installations all over India like airports, airstrips, airfields, air force stations, helipads, flying schools, aviation training institutes, it has been decided by the competent authority to extend the restrictions imposed by the Alert issued by BCAS.
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