The Punjab Police have booked five people, including three based in the US, for sedition and promoting enmity and criminal conspiracy, following the cropping up of hoardings, seeking a referendum on a separate Sikh state of Khalistan. Five books for sedition

Those booked include New York-based organisation Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) legal adviser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and SFJ activists Jagdeep Singh and Jagjeet Singh (all three based in New York), Gurpeet Singh of Mohali and Harpunit Singh of Jammu.

The action comes after chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh ordered a crackdown on the outfit after complaints from citizens that a deliberate effort was on to vitiate the state’s atmosphere. Amarinder’s order came after a series of provocative posters and hoardings were put up at more than 40 outdoor sites across the state.