Indian Sikh devotees known as Punj Pyara hold swords as they escort The Palki Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Holy Book) as they take part in a procession from Sri Akal Takhat at The Golden Temple in Amritsar on December 9, 2010, on the eve of death anniversary of the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur. – Photo by AFP

BERLIN: German police have arrested two men suspected of being Sikh militants belonging to a group that is fighting to create a Sikh homeland, prosecutors said on Thursday.

They say the men, arrested in the western states of Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, were part of the militant Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) that wants to create a Sikh homeland out of parts of India and Pakistan.

“They are accused of having joined the KZF by 2009 at the latest and been in contact with its leadership abroad to help procure weapons,” Germany's Public Prosecutor General at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe said in a statement.

The two, described as 35-year old Sukhpreet S. and 41-year old Jagtar S. M., are Indian nationals and have been charged with violations of firearms laws and “membership in a foreign terrorist organisation”.

Prosecutors say they had acquired two semi-automatic firearms and forged identity documents, and had sought to obtain more arms to help the KZF in its attacks on Indian targets and authorities.

The group aims to deliver weapons and counterfeit money to the Indian state of Punjab via networks of members in Europe, police say. The European Union considers it a terrorist organisation. – Reuters