Former BJP MLA Jitender Singh Shunty has claimed that he has received a death threat from a Khalistani extremist. According to a report by PTI, Shunty lodged a complaint with Delhi Police on Monday, alleging that both he and his son were threatened.
Shunty, the report said, has also written a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Shahdara, and SHO Vivek Vihar police station, detailing the threat. According to the letter, he received a WhatsApp call on Monday, where the caller — who spoke in Punjabi — allegedly threatened him with "dire consequences and death" for speaking against Khalistan.
"My son and I were threatened with dire consequences and death for speaking against Khalistan. I handed over a complaint for further action," Shunty said in the letter.
Speaking to ANI, Shunty said he received the call at 12.59 pm on Monday. "...A Khalistan supporter... said: 'You and your son speak a lot against Khalistan. Now your last time has arrived'. The person spoke for about 35 to 40 seconds before disconnecting the phone," Shunty added.
Shunty is the president of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal and a recipient of the Padma Shri for his philanthropic services during the Covid-19 pandemic. He claimed in the letter that he is under "constant threat" from extremists.
“We are under apprehension of being attacked by pro-Khalistan extremists," he added.
He has said that these threats are because his son Jyot Jeet, a state spokesperson of the BJP in Delhi, is openly critical of Khalistani terrorism in television interviews as well as on other platforms.
"Recently, his video of holding a placard against Khalistan at Delhi's Connaught Place went viral across the globe," he wrote in the letter, as reported by ANI.
In 2008, Shunty became a member of the BJP. He won the 2013 Delhi assembly elections from Shahdara.