Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Monday that authorities have made adequate security arrangements for the G20 summit to be held in Ramnagar from Tuesday to Thursday. The CM's statement comes after recorded calls from a notorious Khalistani stating that Ramnagar is a part of Khalistan and that Dhami will have to pay for actions being taken against Khalistan sympathisers in Uttarakhand were received by many members of public, media persons and government officials in the State.
The recorded message also talked about unfurling the Khalistan 'flag' at various important locations in Ramnagar. A total of 100 delegates including 70 foreign guests and 30 Indian officials will participate in the meeting. The CM said that all necessary preparations for the G20 summit have been done from the administrative and security point of view. "Police officials have been directed to do the needful. Home department, police headquarters and the security agencies are keeping an eye on every activity,” said the CM.
A recorded audio call was received by many Uttarakhand residents and also surfaced on social media earlier on Sunday in which a pro- Khalistan organisation, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), called for the boycott of G20 meetings in Ramnagar. In the recorded message, the president of SFJ Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has allegedly threatened to replace Indian flags with Khalistani flags in the G20 meeting venue and prominent destinations in the city claiming that Ramnagar is a part of Khalistan and not part of India. However senior officials said that Pannun had made similar calls earlier this month to boycott G20 meetings in Amritsar stating that Amritsar is a part of Khalistan.
The deputy inspector general of Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) Senthil Avoodai Krishna Raj S said the STF has been investigating the audio. “It was revealed in the preliminary investigation that the audio clip was shared through a spoofed number. It appears to be just an attempt by Pannun to gain publicity before the G20 meeting. Still, we have increased forces in Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital districts to strengthen security arrangements,” said the DIG.
He added that nobody needs to panic as the State police have made tight security arrangements to tackle any critical situation.
