Amritpal aide Avtar Singh Khanda vital link between separatists

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 15

Avtar Singh Purba, alias Khanda, of Khukhrana village in Moga, who reportedly died earlier this morning in the UK, was a vital link among various banned terror organisations and separatist groups, including the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and the Amritpal Singh-led Waris Punjab De.

He was the main player behind the Khalistan movement, radicalisation of youths, Red Fort violence in 2021 involving Deep Sidhu during the farmers’ stir and planting pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh.

Khanda’s father Kulwant Singh Khukhrana was an active member of the Khalistan Commando Force and close associate of Gurjant Singh Budh Singhwala. Kulwant was involved in several killings before he was shot in an encounter in 1992.

In 2010, Khanda went to the UK on a study visa, but soon sought political asylum and joined the KLF.

According to intelligence reports, Khanda was appointed head of the KLF after the killing of Harmeet Singh, alias PhD, on January 27, 2020. He owned a music company named “Landlord Productions”, which was later dissolved. As per the police dossier, Khanda followed Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s ideology and got associated with Sikh hardliner groups in the UK. He frequently delivered anti-India speeches during the protests on June 6 to mark the Operation Bluestar anniversary in London.

In 2017, he organised an interview of Deep Sidhu on KTV to promote his movie “Jora 10 numberi” and also helped him in screening the movie in Leicester.

He encouraged Deep Sidhu, the main accused in the 2021 Red Fort violence, three days prior to the incident. During the same period, Khanda also got the actor in touch with the UK-based pro-Khalistan activists Dupinderjit Singh and Paramjit Singh Pamma of the SFJ. The duo promised a hefty reward to Deep Sidhu for inciting the violence.

In March 2022, Waris Punjab De’s core activist Daljeet Kalsi met Amritpal Singh in Dubai and stayed there for two days to discuss about their future plans. Later, Kalsi went to the UK where he met Khanda and other Sikh radicals.

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