Avtar Singh Khanda, UK-based chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and the main handler of Khalistani separatist Amritpal Singh, has died, sources said.
Avtar Singh Khanda, helped Amritpal Singh evade the police for 37 days in between March and April.
He was suspected of being poisoned, sources said. According to medical records, he was suffering from blood cancer. He was admitted to City Hospital, Birmingham.
He was also believed to have played a key role in establishing Amritpal Singh as the chief of Waris Punjab De after the death of Deep Sidhu.
It is to be noted that, Avtar Singh Khanda is a bomb expert, was the mastermind behind the pulling down of the Indian flag outside the UK High Commission in London on March 19.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had identified Khanda and three other separatists as the main accused in connection with the incident.
Avtar Singh Khanda is the son of killed KLF terrorist Kulwant Singh. He went to the UK in 2007 on a study visa before he took asylum there in 2012.
He was reportedly heading the KLF under the code name ‘Ranjodh Singh’ after the killing of former chief Harmeet Singh in Pakistan in January 2020.
His name was in the list handed over to the British government in 2015 for conspiring against India. However, successive British governments allowed him to live in Britain on political asylum.
Avtar Singh Khanda also had links with ISI, who the Indian intelligence agencies in the past have accused of providing IED training inside the UK Gurudwaras.
Further details awaited.
