- Sunday, May 12, 2024
Khanda, who allegedly helped separatist preacher Amritpal Singh evade the police for more than a month in March and April, was suspected of being poisoned, said one report.
By: Shubham Ghosh
AVTAR SINGH Khanda, UK-based chief of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and a close aide to jailed radical preacher Amritpal Singh, on Thursday (15) passed away at a hospital in Birmingham.
Khanda, who allegedly helped Singh evade the police for more than a month in March and April, was suspected of being poisoned, India Today reported citing sources. Medical reports, however, claim that he was suffering from blood cancer. Khanda was admitted to City Hospital after he complained of uneasiness on Monday (12).
The late leader, who is the son of slain KLF member Kulwant Singh, went to the UK in 2007 on a study visa and took asylum there five years later.
Khanda led the protests at the Indian high commission in London on March 19, a day after the police in India’s Punjab state launched a manhunt for Amritpal Singh.
A pro-Khalistan mob gathered outside the Indian mission in London to protest against the crackdown on Singh and his aides. They took to vandalism and also pulled down India’s National Flag, leading to a major diplomatic backlash from New Delhi which asked the British authorities to ensure safety of its diplomatic missions.
Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had warned that India would not take such things lightly.
Khanda was reportedly heading the KLF under the code name of ‘Ranjodh Singh’ after the killing of its former chief Harmeet Singh in Pakistan in 2020, the India Today report added. He was also believed to have played a key role in making Singh as the chief of Waris Punjab De (heirs of Punjab) after the death of its founder Deep Singh Sidhu who died in a car crash in February last year.
Khalsa Aid founder Ravi Singh requested a full investigation and a full coroner's report into the death of UK's Birmingham based pro-khalistan leader Avtar Singh Khanda, who died in the morning. pic.twitter.com/siw6UqYulU
— Parteek Singh Mahal (@parteekmahal) June 15, 2023
Khalsa Aid International CEO Ravinder Singh wrote to Midlands Police seeking a full investigation into Khanda’s death.