Assam: Punjabi Dhaba Owner Detained For Displaying Khalistani Poster In Bongaigaon

BONGAIGAON: A roadside dhaba owner hailing from Punjab landed in fresh trouble in Bongaigaon district of Assam after he was arrested over suspicions of sympathizing with the banned Khalistani movement.

Bongaigaon SP Mohan Lal Meena has said that the suspect had openly displayed controversial posters featuring Khalistani ideologue Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other related imagery in his eatery which is located near Gerukabari outpost along National Highway-27.

The top cop stated that a poster of Bhindranwale, alongside another showing an individual waving a flag similar to the Khalistani symbol, was put on display at the business establishment and added that the cops are currently scrutinizing these materials.

The Bongaigaon SP revealed the identity of the individual as Gurmukh Singh, who hails from Tarn Taran district of Punjab. He had also put out a photo of the late controversial rapper Sidhu Moose Wala in his shop.

Singh was taken into police custody on Sunday, and law enforcement officials are currently interrogating him.

According to the SP, Singh claimed to have received these pictures from some truck drivers.

"While he may be sympathetic to the cause, we cannot conclusively ascertain his allegiance at this juncture," remarked the SP.

Notably, prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Singh was working as a truck driver but he transitioned to running the dhaba after the outbreak.

SP Meena concluded by saying they suspect that Singh displayed such posters in the premises of his dhaba to lure truck drivers, a sizable chunk of whom hail from Punjab, adding that otherwise, it would not make sense for him to publicly display such controversial material in his compound.

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