E-Paper
Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode was ISI’s go-to man for anti-India ops
Listed as an ‘individual terrorist’ under the UA(P)A, 72-year-old Rode, whose ancestral village was at Rode in Moga, had fled to Pakistan in 1991
Pakistan’s go-to man for anti-India operations and Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode, who died due to a heart attack in Pakistan, was one of the most active terrorists operating from foreign nations.
Self-styled head of the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and nephew of slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Lakhbir Singh’s activities to “revive militancy” in Punjab with the help of Pakistan’s ISI, had been troubling Indian agencies and Pakistan in the recent past. He was actively engaged in sending weapons and explosive consignments from across the border to India to carry out terrorist activities in Punjab.
Listed as an ‘individual terrorist’ under the UA(P)A, 72-year-old Rode, whose ancestral village was at Rode in Moga district, had fled to Pakistan in 1991 and was residing in Lahore under the patronage of the Pakistan Army, revealed Punjab Police’s dossier on him.
Joined the Khalistan movement in 1982
He joined the Khalistan movement in 1982 after returning to Punjab from Dubai. After the 1984 storming of the Golden Temple, Singh fled to Nepal from where he shifted his base to Dubai again in 1986. After settling his family in Canada, Singh came to Lahore where he was residing since 1991.
Rode had been using Lashkar-e-Taiba links to smuggle arms and ammunition in Punjab via Jammu and Kashmir and had been pushing tiffin bombs in Punjab.
In 2010, security agencies killed his three aides near Jammu-Pathankot border when they were trying to crossover to India with arms to carryout terror attacks.
In 2017, by joining hands with another Pakistan-based Khalistani terrorists Ranjeet Neeta and Harmeet PhD, Lakhbir sent a huge number of grenades and pistols which were recovered by Punjab Police by busting different modules.
NIA court ordered confiscation of land belonging to him
Recently, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court in Mohali had ordered the confiscation of land belonging to the designated terrorist and Pakistan-based self-styled terrorist in Punjab’s Moga district. The land is in Kothe Gurupura village near Samalsar in Baghapurana tehsil of Moga.
The court ordered the confiscation of the land under Section 33(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, under which a judge can confiscate moveable and immoveable property of a proclaimed offender involved in serious crimes.
The order was related to a case registered by the NIA on October 1, 2021, under the Explosive Substances Act, UAPA, NDPS Act and the IPC. Originally, the FIR was registered on September 16, 2021 under the Explosive Substances Act at Jalalabad police station in a case involving a tiffin bomb blast. The explosion occurred near a Punjab National Bank in Jalalabad in Fazilka at 7.57 pm on September 15, 2021.
Declared ‘most wanted’ by NIA in January 2023
He was declared ‘most wanted’ by the NIA in January 2023. Rode founded the ISYF in 1984 and it has been quite active in Canada and the UK also. The ISYF was banned under the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA) on March 22, 2002. Besides being banned in India, the group was banned in the UK in 2001. Following the ban in the UK, the group changed its name to Sikh Federation-UK.
He worked closely with the ISI to disrupt peace in Punjab and all tiffin bomb modules busted in the past couple of years by Punjab Police were his handiwork.
Key conspirator of Ludhiana court complex blast
Rode was the key conspirator of the Ludhiana court complex blast in 2021. Rode’s nephew and son of Jasbir Singh Rode was also arrested by the police in a case of recovery of RDX and tiffin bomb in Jalandhar in 2021.
The murder of Shaurya Chakra awardee Comrade Balwinder Singh, well known face of Tarn Taran during the fight against terrorism, was also done on Rode’s directions in 2020.
In February this year, the state special operation cell (SSOC) of the police had booked nine persons, including Rode, for smuggling arms, ammunition, drugs and explosives using drones from across the border.
He had confessed several times that he had been working closely with the Pakistan government to launch attacks against India. He was arrested with 20 kg of RDX and said it was given to him by a councillor in the Pakistani Embassy in Kathmandu.
His son Bhaggu Brar is currently living in Canada and is also accused of carrying out terrorist activities in Punjab. Brar used to travel to Pakistan regularly to provide arms and funds to his father. He has also been accused of promoting anti-India activities in Canada.
