New Delhi: Banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has intensified its alleged propaganda activities in Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for next year, with local operatives reportedly being tasked with painting pro-Khalistan graffiti and putting up secessionist posters in rural areas, intelligence officials said.

According to the officials, the campaign was launched on the instructions of SFJ chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a proscribed terrorist. The outfit is allegedly offering payments of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for each propaganda poster put up across the state.

An official said the campaign aimed to create communal divisions, provoke tensions, and expand the group’s poster and graffiti activities.

“The SFJ has directed some of its members in Punjab to focus extensively on the rural parts of the state. They have been told to put out posters and also paint pro-Khalistan content on walls,” the official said.

Another official said SFJ operatives had been instructed to record their activities and send the footage to Pannun. The videos, officials alleged, would then be circulated widely to create tensions and potentially encourage more young people to join the movement.

An Intelligence Bureau official said Pannun had a well-organised social media team.

“The Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has invested a lot in this team as it realises the importance of propaganda. Moreover, the Khalistan issue will always remain in the discourse as long as the social media team can ensure that the content posted has a wide reach,” the official said.

Rural areas in focus

Officials said the alleged targeting of rural Punjab was deliberate, claiming that misinformation could spread more easily in areas where access to fact-checking tools and awareness about them may be limited.

They said the campaign could involve not only the promotion of pro-Khalistan ideology but also the circulation of disinformation, particularly on religious issues, with the alleged aim of deepening social divisions.

Another stated objective, officials said, was to divert the attention of security agencies and keep them occupied with propaganda-related incidents.

“This would help those elements across the border to easily smuggle in arms and ammunition as well as narcotics,” the official said.

The allegations come days after Delhi Police arrested three men for allegedly painting pro-Khalistan graffiti at the Singhu border ahead of the BRICS Summit. Police said the activity had been carried out at the behest of SFJ.

The graffiti reportedly included the messages, “Dismantle Modi’s BRICS”, “Khalistan SFJ”, “Khalistan Zindabad” and “SFJ Khalistan America First”.

Security agencies face multiple challenges

The reported SFJ activity comes as security agencies prepare for the Punjab elections and continue to deal with drone-related threats from Pakistan.

Officials said drones allegedly used to deliver arms, ammunition and narcotics posed a major challenge because of their increasingly sophisticated technology. They added that proceeds from narcotics smuggling were allegedly being used to fund terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir and efforts to revive the Khalistan movement in Punjab.

An official said countering the drone threat required more than simply tracking or intercepting the aircraft.

The technology needs constant upgrading as the drones that are being sent by narcotic smugglers in Pakistan are highly sophisticated, the official said.

Officials further alleged that SFJ was recruiting young people without previous police records to carry out relatively simple assignments, making it harder for security agencies to identify them.

The outfit was also reportedly approaching people struggling with drug addiction, who officials said could be vulnerable because of their need for money to purchase narcotics.

The allegations could not be independently verified.