Pro-Khalistan activist Avtar Singh Khanda dies in UK hospital

Khanda, who was associated with the Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar, was admitted to the hospital on Monday. While the exact cause of his death is not yet clear, some reports suggested food poisoning, while others claimed he succumbed to blood cancer.

UK-based pro-Khalistan activist Avtar Singh Khanda, who helped Waris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh while he was on the run from the Punjab Police, has passed away at a hospital in Birmingham, UK.

Khanda, who was associated with the Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar, was admitted to the hospital on Monday. While the exact cause of his death is not yet clear, some reports suggested food poisoning, while others claimed he succumbed to blood cancer.

According to investigation agencies which had probed Amritpal Singh’s case, Khanda was the brain behind the pro-Khalistan preacher’s rise and had groomed him. The Punjab Police had detained Khanda’s mother and sister while Amritpal Singh was on the run. It is believed that Khanda was in contact with Amritpal when the pro-Khalistan preacher was evading arrest.

Khanda was also arrested in the UK for pulling down India’s national flag at the High Commission in London. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had mentioned Avtar Singh Khanda’s name for allegedly attempting to vandalise the Indian High Commission in London on March 19, the day after the crackdown on Waris Punjab De began in Punjab.

Khanda, the son of Kulwant Singh Khukrana was a militant of the Khalistan Liberation Force, was known as a pro-Khalistan activist. His name had also surfaced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to England in 2015.