Khalistani terrorist Avtar Singh Khanda, chief of the banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), died in a London hospital on Thursday. It is suspected that the main handler of Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh was suspected of being poisoned. However, medical reports show that he was suffering from blood cancer.
The death of Avtar Singh Khanda was confirmed on Instagram by Khalsa Aid founder Ravinder Singh. “It is with great sadness and deep pain I am announcing that @avtar_singh_khanda_azaad_ has passed away,” he wrote. Khalsa Aid is a United Kingdom-based pro-Khalistan organisation, and Ravinder Singh is known for his anti-India comments.
Avtar Singh Khanda, UK based Khalistani terrorist, bomb expert, head of KLF & main handler of Amritpal Singh is on life support in a London hospital after suspected poisoning.
— REACH 🇮🇳 (UK) Chapter (@reachind_uk) June 14, 2023
He is also responsible for attack on Indian high commission in London.#Karma : poisoned by masters!… pic.twitter.com/uYIHG4Q3WK
Avtar Singh Khanda was getting treatment at Sandwell Hospital in Birmingham, where he was admitted around two weeks ago. He was reportedly on life support for the last several days. While his supporters claimed that he was poisoned and initial reports also indicated poisoning as the cause of the death, the medical reports do not mention anything regarding it. An official statement from the hospital is awaited.
Avtar Singh Khanda was the mastermind behind the attack on Indian High Commission in London where he had pulled down the Indian national flag and attempted to hoist the Khalistan flag. He was arrested after the March 19 incident.
Khalsa Aid demands a probe
The Khalsa Aid has written a letter to the West Midlands Police & Coroner to investigate the ‘sudden death’ of Khanda. Requesting a full investigation and full coroner’s report, the letter states that “the death of this previously young and healthy individual has caused much concern amongst the community across the UK and globally.” Saying that this death follows a number of other untimely deaths of Sikh activists within the last 18 months, Khalsa Aid wrote that they seek “reassurance that this death is not politically motivated or sinister.”
Hinting that foreign powers (read India) could be behind the death, Khalsa Aid mentioned alleged death squads run by Russia in the UK. “We know too that the police are only too acutely aware of foreign powers operating within UK from the experience of Russian governments conducting death squads in the UK. We request a similar thoroughness in this investigation as he was a very healthy young man whose demise has been very sudden,” the letter stated.
It is notable that the Khalsa Aid is suspected to be a front organisation for the Khalistani outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). The NIA had registered a case in this regard in December 2012, alleging that Khalsa Aid was one of the organisations linked to the BKI funding the Indian BKI members to commit terror acts in the country.
Who was Avtar Singh Khanda?
Avtar Singh Khanda, born in Punjab’s Moga district, was the son of terrorist Kulwant Singh Khukrana who was associated with the Khalistan Liberation Force and Khalistan Commando Force. He was also a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar.
He was also a member of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a Khalistani terrorist group banned in several countries including Canada, the US and the UK, apart from India.
He was believed to be close to other KLF leaders like Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit Singh Pamma. He was also related to another militant leader Gurjant Singh Budhsingwala.
Avtar Singh Khanda worked with other London-based Khalistani separatists like Joga Singh, Kuldip Singh Chaheru and Gursharan Singh, and was behind several Khalistani demonstrations in the UK. According to Indian intelligence agencies, he radicalised and trained several youths in extremist and separatist ideology.
The London-based Khalistani terrorist nurtured Waris Punjab De (WPD) chief terrorist Amritpal Singh. He mentored and prepared Amritpal to lead Waris Punjab De before sending the latter to Punjab. He also assisted Amritpal Singh in evading the Punjab police during the crackdown on WPD.
He also had ties with slain Khalistani radical Deep Sidhu who was heading WPD before Amritpal.
𝐀𝐦𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬
— Navdeep Singh (@Navdeep_UK) March 21, 2023
1/n
For the first time, in a clubhouse audio room, Deep Sidhu & Avtar Singh Khanda got into a discourse on #Khalistan
Note: Khanda didn't meet Deep Sidhu ever.
You may hear the truth from the horse's mouth. pic.twitter.com/a8XGDOmHK4
On 19 March, 2023, Khand pulled down the Tricolour at the Indian embassy in London. The video went viral creating uproar.
#WATCH | United Kingdom: Khalistani elements attempt to pull down the Indian flag but the flag was rescued by Indian security personnel at the High Commission of India, London.
— ANI (@ANI) March 19, 2023
(Source: MATV, London)
(Note: Abusive language at the end) pic.twitter.com/QP30v6q2G0
Khanda was an expert in making bombs and IEDs, and he radicalised and trained Sikh youth in a UK-based Gurudwara. He was closely and actively connected to the Khalistani nexus in the UK and India.
Khanda was also associated with a pro-Khalistani organization named Dal Khalsa. He had been a part of a rally organized by Dal Khalsa in 2012. He had also been promoting Khalistani activities on social media and instigating the youth.
Avtar Singh Khanda regularly appeared on the pro-Khalistan channel Khalsa TV, where he worked as a news anchor and used to talk against India. The channel’s licence was suspended in April last year by British Telecom regulator Ofcom for inciting violence. Later, he worked as a journalist for USMI News, a channel run by ‘Sikh For Justice’.
Khanda further is believed to have shared close ties with Mahboob Ali, leader of the outlawed Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
Khanda was named in a list of people conspiring against India that the Indian government had handed over to the UK government in 2015. But he was allowed to live in the UK on political asylum. He had entered the UK on a student visa. Even though the Indian govt had asked the British govt to put a check on his anti-India activities, he was allowed to run the Khalistani propaganda without any prescription. However, India strongly objected to the attack on Indian High Commission in London on March 19, he was arrested on March 20.
