Avtar Singh Khanda, UK-based head of Khalistan Liberation Force who allegedly groomed pro- Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh, died in Sandwell hospital in Birmingham on Thursday. While his cause of death was not known, some reports suggest that he was suffering from blood cancer.
Khanda’s mother, Charanjit Kaur, was detained in April. She was arrested by the Counter Intelligence wing of the Punjab Police, Ludhiana unit, from her residence in Moga. The Counter Intelligence wing was reportedly investigating illegal money transfers through hawala and the 65-year-old was detained and questioned in this regard. Her husband, KLF terrorist Kulwant Singh Khukhrana, was gunned down by security forces in 1991. She is also related to KLF terrorist Gurjant Singh Budhsingwala, Hindustan Times reported.
Khanda was reportedly put on life support after he was diagnosed with blood cancer on Wednesday. He died at Birmingham City Hospital shortly after 12:30am (IST) on Thursday, News 18 reported, citing sources.
He was the UK-based head of Khalistan Liberation Force. In March, he was taken into custody for pulling down India’s national flag at the Indian High Commission in London. He was also accused of training Sikh youths on how to make live bombs and handle IEDs.
Khanda reportedly patronised and groomed Amritpal Singh and also placed him as the leader of ‘Waris Punjab De’ in Punjab following the death of its founder Deep Sidhu.