NEW DELHI: Three people, including the alleged mastermind, have been arrested by Delhi Police Special Cell for allegedly painting offensive graffiti at Singhu Border ahead of the Brics summit, with the probe revealing suspected links to banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and its chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, police sources said.The graffiti was painted on walls at Singhu Border on September 6. Pannun later claimed responsibility for the act in a post on X, sources said, news agency ANI reported.
Police trace accused through CCTV
According to police, the alleged mastermind was in direct contact with a foreign handler, was receiving foreign funding and was managing SFJ’s operations in India.Following the incident, the Special Cell registered an FIR and launched an investigation. Police examined CCTV footage from the Singhu Border and gathered leads about those allegedly involved in the graffiti.Based on the CCTV footage and other inputs, the police team arrested the three accused, sources said. Police have also recovered the car allegedly used by them to carry out the graffiti.
Delhi security tightened
Meanwhile, security has been stepped up at Bharat Mandapam as India hosts the 18th Brics summit on September 12 and 13. Dog squads have also been deployed as part of the security arrangements at the venue.Delhi Police has mobilised around 15,000 personnel, while nearly 200 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed for security, law-and-order duties and other operational tasks.“Delhi Police has mobilised over 15,000 personnel for these arrangements. The MHA has provided us with approximately 200 CAPF companies, which are being deployed for law and order duties and other operational tasks,” Special Commissioner of Police (Security) Manish Agarwal said on Friday.
Theme, member countries
The theme of this year’s summit is “Building Resilience for Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainable Development.”India is a founding member of Brics and has previously chaired the grouping in 2012, 2016 and 2021.Brics has emerged as an important platform for coordination among major emerging economies and for advancing the interests of the Global South in multilateral institutions.Its agenda covers areas including development, finance, technology, trade and people-to-people exchanges.The grouping currently comprises 11 countries — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE.(With agency inputs)
