NIA posters in Puranpur seek leads about wanted BKI militant

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has put up posters at multiple locations in the Puranpur town of Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district, seeking information on the whereabouts of Kulveer Singh Siddhu, a wanted militant of pro-Khalistan organisation Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) carrying ₹10-lakh reward on his head.

Siddhu, who is wanted and carries a ₹10-lakh reward in connection with a Punjab Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader’s murder, was said to have stayed secretly in Puranpur for three years before fleeing the region in April 2024.

Puranpur police station in-charge Naresh Kumar Tyagi confirmed that the NIA put up posters at different locations, including one at the local kotwali on Wednesday evening, hoping to get some information regarding his whereabouts from locals.

He said the NIA sleuths had also sought assistance from the local police to get details of Siddhu and his accomplices in the region.

The NIA probe revealed that Siddhu spent over three years in Zapti village in the same region and then moved abroad around a year ago after procuring Indian passport on a local address. This lead surfaced during the interrogation of sympathisers and helpers of three alleged militants of ‘Khalistan Zindabad Force’ (KZF) — Varinder Singh alias Ravi, Gurwinder Singh, and Jashanpreet Singh alias Partap Singh — who were gunned down in Puranpur during a joint operation by Uttar Pradesh and Punjab police on December 23, 2024. The three were accused of attacking a police outpost of Gurdaspur district in Punjab with grenades on December 18, 2024, after which they fled and took refuge in Puranpur.

Pilibhit superintendent of police (SP) Avinash Pandey had claimed that a person from the United Kingdom, who made internet calls to two local youths, arranged a hotel room for the three alleged KZF militants, who were gunned down in the encounter. Later, it came to the fore that the caller was the BKI militant Siddhu, who is wanted in the sensational murder of VHP leader Vikas Prabhakar alias Vikas Bagga at his ship in the Nangal town of Rupnagar district, Punjab, on April 13.

Pilibhit police officials confirmed that Siddhu had called a local youth, Jaspal Singh alias Sunny, to arrange a hotel room for the three slain accused on December 20. He said Sunny has been sent to jail after his involvement was confirmed in assisting the trio despite being aware about their alleged terror links.

A senior police official privy to the investigation said Sunny and several other youths of Pilibhit’s Puranpur town were in touch with Siddhu after coming in contact with him during his stay in the area. The official said Siddhu visited Puranpur from his native village in Haryana during the COVID pandemic in 2020-21 and left for Greece in April 2024. Siddhu, said to be living in England currently, is allegedly in touch with other pro-Khalistan militants.

The senior official said Sunny revealed that Siddhu participated in several sports activities in the region during his stay in Puranpur and formed a huge network of youngsters with whom he still interacts regularly. He added that Sunny’s elder brother Major Singh has also been living in England for the past two and a half years and is suspected to be in touch with Siddhu.

The NIA had filed a chargesheet against six people, including two absconders — Kulveer Singh Siddhu and Pakistan-based BKI chief Wadhwa Singh alias Babbar –and three accused arrested in connection with the Vikas Bagga murder case in October 2024.