Were raids on Sikh homes the result of Indian influence on British police?

A series of police raids made against Sikh activists across England could have occurred because “Indian police officers could be targeting Sikh activists through British police” according to the Sikh Federation UK.

SFUK made the statement today after questions arose following the raids, which saw no arrests made and property such as passports and laptops confiscated. See the full statement here.

The statement came after West Midlands police released news confirming the raids, saying “Addresses in #Coventry, #Leicester and #Birmingham searched as part of CTU investigation in connection with allegations of extremist activity in India and fraud offences.” See the full statement here. Through sources Sikh PA can also confirm an address in London, home to a well known Sikh activist, was also raided.

The addresses are alleged to have been the homes of Sikhs known for speaking out against the Indian government’s human rights abuses which include the current treatment of British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal. The actions of the police prompted the Sikh Federation UK to say they hope “the West Midlands and East Midlands police are not doing the dirty work of the Indian authorities.”

The raids on Sikh homes comes just after the Sikh Federation UK reformed their push for Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland in India to be made up of Punjab, a movement Indian authorities have regularly decried and attempted to malign as an extremist movement. This portrayal conflicts with the manner of UK Khalistan movement support, which comes in the form of government lobbying, educational talks within the community and push for a democratic movement for a referendum in Punjab. There is no evidence to suggest there is any extremist illegal activity regarding Khalistan in the UK, whilst suggestions there is in nations like Canada have also been directly challenged, with community leaders calling for investigations to provide proof of such allegations.

The Indian state has a history of false statements regarding the nature and threat of pro-Khalistan movements in the UK, with Indian media previously claiming a dossier on Sikh extremism in the UK was handed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015, only for Sikh Council UK to prove no such dossier existed or was ever handed to Cameron, as confirmed by the secretary of parliament. This fake news was also reported as fact by the Daily Mail Online. Despite proof the Mail Online report was false and perpetrated by Indian media with an anti-Sikh agenda, a complaint by the Sikh Press Association against the coverage was rejected by the Independent Press Standards Organisation, whilst Indian media also did not report the findings that the dossier did not exist.

On 13th June Cressida Dick wrote to Preet Kaur Gill MP, Chair of the APPG for British Sikhs regarding the 1984 Sikh Genocide Remembrance March. The letter stated that Commander Jane Connors of the Met Police was “in contact with the Indian High Commission to discuss the policing of this event”. The admission caused outrage in the Sikh community, leading to Commander Connors later claiming that the Indian High Commission had not been contacted.

Further details on this situation will be reported when more information comes out.