Khalistani separatist Jaspal Atwal taken off MHA blacklist in ’17

NEW DELHI: There is no restriction on Khalistani separatist Jaspal Atwal’s travel as he was taken off the home ministry’s ‘blacklist’ of Sikh extremists in July last year, government sources said on Thursday. Atwal was put under a ‘discreet look out circular’ and his movements were supposed to be kept under watch but he could not be stopped from going anywhere, sources said, adding, “His name is not there on the current blacklist.”

Atwal’s name was removed from the MEA ‘blacklist’ as part of the Centre’s process of reviewing the names of Sikhs on the list on the basis of intelligence reports and activities of the persons concerned. The names of nearly 150 terrorists and their associates were removed from this list over the last few years.