“Resistance” rises in response to Sikh “fake encounters” revival

A grenade with the pin still intact was left outside the business of a “BJP leader” in Gurdaspur (Panjab) on Monday evening, in an act later claimed by the “Panjab Resistance Front”.

The attack is one of at least three combative responses to Gurdaspur police killing Sikh teenager Ranjeet Singh in February in a “fake encounter”; when police fabricate an incident justifying shooting an arrestee, or claim a “disappeared” arrestee was released.

Two social media posts by @PRF_Panjab stated the “attack on a BJP/RSS leader” was a move to counter “Hindutva hate and fascist ideology” and its “occupational forces” which attempts to “control and exploit Punjab”.

The target of the attack was the business of a Gurdaspur BJP figure. Authorities cordoned off the area of Geeta Bhawan Road (a market area) where local BJP leader Atal Sharma has a “sanitaryware showroom”. Two “turbaned” assailants on a motorcycle were seen leaving the object outside the business at approximately 7.30pm on 27^th April.

The BJP is the in-power party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, closely affiliated with the RSS, a Hindutva (Hindu extremist) paramilitary group linked to countless murders and acts of bigotry in the name of Indian Hindu nationalism. The BJP is an ultra-nationalist party which is often accused of using the RSS as a mob enforcement mechanism to subjugate minorities of India, including Sikhs.

The PRF is self-described as an organization of “Panjabis against fascism and oppression”.

The PRF incident follows two more similar acts, both of which actually saw explosives go off. Including this recent incident, since the 24^th February suspected murder of 19-year-old Ranjeet Singh, the following acts of aggression towards Indian authorities in Punjab have been reported by Indian media and confirmed by sources to The Sikh Press Association as legitimate:

• 30^th March: Bhindisain Police Station (Amritsar), blast (no injuries) claimed by the Khalistan Liberation Army regarding Indian authorities targeting Punjab youth
• 1^st April: BJP head office Chandigarh, blast (no injuries) claimed by Babbar Khalsa International regarding Indian authorities targeting Punjab youth, including another fake encounter
• 27th April: Geeta Bhawan Road (Gurdaspur), business place of BJP leader Atal Sharma, no blast, claimed by Punjab Resistance Front regarding Hindutva occupation of Punjab

The Sikh Press Association recognize that Indian authorities’ claims of Khalistani violence are often viewed as entirely fabricated to justify subjugation of Punjab, or else seen as falsely entwined with non-political crimes (EG narcotics trafficking) to justify crackdowns on the free Sikh homeland movement. However, on the occasions listed above, there is grassroots verification which affirms these are acts of pro-Sikh sovereignty groups.

Around the late-February and early-March period, some demonstrations by Punjab youth against India’s Hindutva overreach into local affairs were met with police violence. In addition, a January 23^rd 2026 attack on Punjab rail infrastructure is also noted as an act of Khalistan agitation.

These ongoing signs of deep unrest in Punjab were sandwiched between the killing of Ranjeet Singh, a killing which led to a global outcry given the brazenness of the case. The circumstances of his killing saw Ranjeet Singh taken in by local police, saying they only wanted to question him regarding the gangland style killing of two officers three nights before. Ranjeet Singh’s uncle (father’s brother) had CCTV footage of the murder of the officers which he gave to police, who later came removing all other potential video footage of the suspects from the village, arousing suspicion of police involvement in the murder of two of their own officers. A few hours after receiving a police call to the family home saying Ranjeet Singh was being released, at approximately 1am 24^th February news broke that the teenage student was killed in what police claim was a standoff. No locals report Ranjeet Singh having any history of criminality. Instead, in death he also becomes the given suspect behind the murder of the two officers the same week.

This suspected killing of 19-year-old Ranjeet Singh is seen as a trigger point, leading to increased activity from Khalistan organisations and the formation of new freedom fighter group the PRF.

However, the Ranjeet Singh killing is not isolated. Just this week, United Sikhs (global Sikh advocacy and aid charity) report the suspicious death of Amritsar Indian army officer Jasbinder Singh, immediately after he was arrested and implicated in a drug case. Read more here.

The Sikh Press Association notes actions mentioned in the above article would be classified as criminal (likely terrorism) by the Indian State. Reporting on the occurrences and wider grassroots Sikh community sentiment around such incidents is in no way advocation for any forms of violence, including acts of uniformed representatives of India.

See below for news clippings from Indian media on the recent incidents covered above.