UK: Khalistan leader Avtar Singh Khanda, chief handler of Amritpal Singh, dies

Avtar Singh Khanda, the UK-based head of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and the alleged chief handler of Amritpal Singh, the head of Waris Punjab De who was arrested in India a couple of months ago, died in a hospital in Birmingham, UK, on Thursday morning (June 15).

Khanda was identified by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as the mastermind behind the pulling down of the Indian national flag during a protest outside the UK High Commission in London on March 19 this year.

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He is also alleged to have helped Amritpal Singh evade the police in India for more than a month in March.

Though the medical reports of the hospital he died in say that he was suffering from blood cancer, there are certain sources who say he was poisoned.

Khanda was the son of a slain KLF terrorist, Kulwant Singh. Khanda went to the UK on a study visa in 2007, and obtained asylum there in 2012.

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He is believed to have been instrumental in establishing Amritpal Singh as the chief of Waris Punjab De after the death of the actor Deep Sidhu.

Amritpal Singh surrendered to the police at a gurdwara in Moga, Punjab on April 23. He was moved to Assam’s Dibrugarh jail, where eight of his associates have been detained under the National Security Act.

(With inputs from agencies)