Police on Delhi-Amritsar Highway in Ludhiana, Punjab encounter of terrorists Did. Two terrorists were shot in the encounter, out of which the condition of one is critical. These terrorists are said to be associated with Babbar Khalsa International. Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) is a banned Khalistani terrorist organization that seeks to create a separate Sikh nation of Khalistan in the Indian state of Punjab.

BKI was founded in 1978 by Sukhdev Singh Babbar. It has been listed as an international terrorist organization by America, Canada, UK, European Union, Japan, Malaysia and India. This organization came into international limelight after the blast on an Air India flight in 1985. An Air India plane coming from Canada to India via London had a blast near the Irish coast, in which 329 people were killed.

In which countries is BKI active?

BKI is currently active in America, Canada, UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and Pakistan. According to sources, the headquarters of this organization is in Lahore, Pakistan. BKI terrorists are also present outside India in Pakistan, North America, Europe and Scandinavian countries.

• Pakistan: Headquarters and training camps (ISI support)
• Canada: Largest expatriate Sikh community, main source of funding
• UK: Strong presence in London, Birmingham, Derby and Coventry
• Germany: Extremist organizations sponsor it
• US: funding and recruitment
• How does this organization work?

1. ISI support

BKI continues its operations from Pakistan with the support of Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). In 2012, investigation by Indian authorities revealed that ISI had given funding worth crores of rupees to BK.

ISI has trained BKI cadres in sabotage, handling of explosives, arms and ammunition. BKI has trained more than 100 Sikh youth from time to time in small batches from UK, Germany, Belgium, USA and Canada.

2. Sources of funding

The organization receives funding from its supporters, who are primarily from the Sikh community based in Europe and North America. Babbar Khalsa has used public rallies and fundraising events for funding. The main sources of funding are drug smuggling and Pakistan’s ISI.

3. Front Organization

According to the NIA, Sikh Organization for Prisoner Welfare (SoPW), Akhand Kirtanee Jattha (AKJ) and Khalsa Aid are front organizations for BKI. These organizations work as charity and religious organizations but secretly send funds to BKI.

4. Alliances with gangs

BKI hired gangsters and criminals from other states including Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to carry out its operations. Gangsters get access to weapons from across the border.

5. Terrorist attacks

NIA said that BKI has attacked important security establishments by targeting them. These include RPG terrorist attack on Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters in Mohali, RPG attack on Sarhali Police Station in Tarn Taran and IED blast on Crime Investigating Agency (CIA) in Ropar.

At present the head of BKI is Wadhwa Singh Babbar, who is taking shelter in Pakistan. Along with him, gangsters like Harvinder Singh alias Rinda are also active, who are carrying out attacks in India from Pakistan.