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Khalistan leader who played key role in Indian mission attack dies
Officials who track PKEs in the UK said Khanda was most likely diagnosed with blood cancer and admitted in a hospital in Birmingham about 14-15 days ago
Avtar Singh Khanda, the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) leader who is believed to have planned the March 19 violence at the Indian high commission in London and played a key role in the rise of jailed Waris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh, died in a hospital in the UK on Thursday, officials in central intelligence agencies said, adding that the development comes as a major blow to the pro-Khalistan elements or PKEs.
While the exact cause of his death is not known, officials who track PKEs in the UK said Khanda was most likely diagnosed with blood cancer and admitted in a hospital in Birmingham about 14-15 days ago.
Intelligence agencies believe that he has been killed by Nijjar and Pamma as he was “proving to be liability to Khalistanis in the UK after his role in attack on Indian High Commission was exposed, said an officer, who didn’t want to be named.
As reported by HT on March 19, Khanda (35), a UK based Sikh radical and vice-president of Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann), who is also a close associate of Khalistani terrorist Jagtar Singh Tara, was the “main handler of Amritpal Singh and brain behind his meteoric rise” before his arrest in April.
Intelligence agencies have learnt that after the death of Harmeet Singh alias PhD in Lahore in 2020, Khanda took the mantle of KLF under the name of Ranjodh Singh.
“He used to frequently participate in protests outside the Indian high commission in London, including March 19 incident which was done after the police action against Amritpal Singh, whom he mentored and was funding. He had also helped Amritpal in evading arrest for over a month and in fact, after Amritpal’s arrest, he formed a committee of foreign based Khalistanis to run the affairs of Waris Punjab De,” said the officer cited above.
This officer added that Khanda was one of the persons behind turning late actor Deep Sidhu into a Khalistan icon, who later denigrated the national flat at the Red Fort on January 26, 2021 during a farmers’ rally in Delhi.
“Khanda was also a close aide of Paramjit Singh Pamma, who is associated with Babbar Khalsa international (BKI) and is known for holding theoretical radical training classes for the Sikh youth to mislead them. Not only Khanda did prop up Amritpal Singh in association with the Pakistani spy agency ISI, but he also worked like an idealogue for Sikh youngsters and brainwashed them against the Indian government,” said an intelligence officer who didn’t want to be named.
Agencies have established that Khanda, along with Pamma, and other Khalistanis such as Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Gursharan Singh, and Jasvir Singh were “working on a deadly plan to destabilizing Punjab” and Amritpal Singh, currently lodged in Dibrugarh prison in Assam, was sent to India for this purpose.
Officials said that Khanda was very close to important militants like Jagtar Singh Tara of KTF (Khalistan Tiger Force), Harminder Singh Mintoo of KLF and Paramjit Singh Panjwar of KCF (Khalistan Commando Force)/Panjwar (both deceased).
Besides Pamma, he was also working closely with KTF militant Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who along with Pannun is spearheading secessionist campaign ‘Referendum 2020’ of banned organisation SFJ, the officer cited above said.
Terming Khanda an expert in explosives, a second intelligence officer said : “They (Khanda and other PKEs in the UK) have been trying to make improvised explosive devices (IEDs) using common chemicals by giving live demonstrations in Birmingham and Glasgow”.
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team last month travelled to London in connection with its investigation into the March 19 attack on the Indian high commission by a mob of PKEs and sought action against Khanda, who allegedly led the protestors there.
The agency has already released CCTV footage of the attack as well as pictures of five suspects while identifying at least 45 suspects from the mob.
As reported by HT last month, NIA is investigating a larger conspiracy by Pakistan-backed pro-Khalistan leaders in the UK behind the incident.
It took over the probe from the Delhi Police after the ministry of home affairs (MHA) met with UK home office representatives in April and raised the issue of security of Indian high commission and radicalization of Sikh youth in the the UK by PKEs.
A senior NIA officer said Khanda was under scanner in three other cases related to PKEs’ terror activities in Punjab and other parts of India.
Khanda was the son of slain KLF militant Kulwant Singh alias Khukhrana. A native of Moga, Punjab, he moved to the UK in early 2010 on a study visa while his family still resides in Old Moga.
While in India, he was involved in petty clashes, but after moving to the UK, he got associated with pro-Khalistan elements.
Khanda had also been associated with the conspiracy and attempts to kill Sukhbir Singh Badal (president of Shiromani Akali Dal/Badal), former Punjab director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini and senior advocate Rajwinder Singh Bains, officials said.
The KLF leader was also luring Indian students and illegal emigrants in UK to join Khalistani outfits in lieu of ‘sponsorship’ for political asylum.
“He had also actively participated during ‘Referendum 2020 voting’ in UK in 2021-22. He was also running a Khalistani TV Channel in the UK,” said the second officer.
