Cheema said without getting Khalistan, the Sikhs could not live with honour and respect. He said he had been implicated in a false case as he had never resorted to violent means to achieve his goal.

Talking to The Indian Express, the former militant said there were a large number of Khalistan supporters in America. Sikh Youth of America, the largest Sikh organisation abroad, was working towards the goal of an independent Khalistan, he said. Cheema was the president of the organisation for five years from 1997 to 2001.

He had been arrested by the Jalandhar police in 1992 with six kg RDX in his possession from Kukkar village here. He had remained in jail for three years. After getting bail he had fled to the US as an illegal immigrant. He was then declared a proclaimed offender. The US police arrested him in 1997 and since then he had been in jail there.

Cheema had also applied for political asylum but the US Government did not grant it on the ground that he had links with militant organisations and could therefore be a danger to the US. The tightening of US laws on the issue after the 9/11 attacks meant that Cheema lost his legal battle there.

Cheema, who hails from Lahori Kalan village in Fatehgarh Sahib district, said many former militants settled abroad wanted to return to the country to be with their families but the Indian Government and the police did not want that to happen.

To express their solidarity with Cheema, several Akali leaders, including Dal Khalsa’s Kanwar Pal Singh, Kuldip Singh Wadala of SAD (B) and SGPC member from Fatehgarh Sahib Karnail Singh Pinjoli met him at the Sadar police station.

The former militant received a VIP treatment at the police station. Mineral water was served to him along with food from an upmarket restaurant. Also, nobody was stopped from meeting him.