Chief Of Terror Outfit Khalistan Liberation Force Avtar Khanda Dies In UK, Supporters Allege Poisoning By 'Indian Security Establishment'

Avtar Singh Khanda, the self-proclaimed chief of the banned terror outfit Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and a close associate of Khalistani radical Amritpal Singh, passed away on Wednesday (June 14) at a hospital in Birmingham, UK.

Khanda was admitted to the Intensive care unit of the hospital on Monday.

Speculation is rife over the actual reason for his death. While Khanda is known to be suffering from blood cancer, his supporters allege that he was killed due to poisoning by the 'Indian security establishment'. A medical report from Sandwell Hospital, where he died, is awaited.

Khanda is widely believed to have played an instrumental role in nurturing another Khalistani radical, Amritpal Singh, and helped in the formation of 'Waris Punjab De'. He is also known to be closely associated with Akali Dal Amritsar group.

The authorities recently arrested Khanda in the UK for pulling down India's national flag at the Embassy in London.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had accused Khanda of masterminding the attack on the Indian High Commission in London on March 19, the day after the crackdown on Waris Punjab De began in Punjab.

Born in the Moga district of Punjab, Khanda's father, Kulwant Singh Khukhrana, a notorious KLF terrorist, was gunned down by Indian security forces in 1991. His mother's family was also related to a KLF terrorist with strong links to Gurjant Singh Budhsigwala, believed to be a Pakistan deep state operative.

Khanda has been on the radar of Indian agencies for several years for his role in radicalising and training susceptible youth in extremist and separatist ideology.

Khanda is said to be an expert in making improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, and gives live demonstrations of bomb-making at some gurudwaras in the UK.

Khanda enjoyed close ties with Khalistani terrorists Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit Singh Pamma. Pamma belongs to Babbar Khalsa International, which has been designated as a terror outfit under UAPA.

While Tara is serving life imprisonment in connection with the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, Pamma, who is on asylum in the UK, is prime accused in the killing of RSS leader Rulda Singh in Patiala and bomb attacks in Patiala and Ambala.

Khanda's name was on the list handed over to the British government in 2015 for conspiring against India. However, Khanda was allowed to live in Britain on political asylum after he entered the country on a student visa.