In a significant step, Avtar Singh Khanda, an asylum seeker in the UK, was arrested for pulling down the Indian flag at the embassy on March 19. Investigations in the Amritpal Singh case revealed that Khanda is the same person who groomed Waris Punjab De leader. He is the one who has been “godfather” to Amritpal Singh before the latter reached Punjab.
According to the reports, his father, Kulwant Singh Khukrana, was a terrorist and was associated with the ‘Khalistan Liberation Force’ and ‘Khalitan Commando Force’. The KLF (Khalistan Liberation Force) was established in 1986. It was founded with the intention of creating Khalistan through the violent separation of Punjab from India.
The video of the incident at the Indian High Commission on March 19 went viral over social media in which a person with an orange turban could be seen ascending the walls of the building and pulling down the Indian National Flag while raising the slogans of ‘Khalistan Zindabad’.
Khanda had also been in contact with Deep Sidhu, who was killed in a road accident on February 15, 2022. In one of the videos making rounds on social media, Khanda could be seen elaborating on how Amritpal Singh was chosen as the chief of Waris Punjab De after Deep Sidhu. “We had formed a religious community for naming the chief and names of five members were given. Amritpal Singh was selected from those five. He was not suddenly made the chief of Waris Panjab De,” he said.
Avtar Singh Khanda is a 151-linked terrorist who has previously been charged with Indian intelligence authorities for conducting IED training inside UK-based Gurudwaras. Amritpal Singh is also said to be a close friend of the Khalistani terrorist Khanda, who resides in the UK. Khanda further is the aide of banned Babbar Khalsa International leader Paramjit Singh Pamma. Khanda also appears alongside Punjabi musician, actor, and producer Gippy Grewal in a photo that has gone across the internet.
Khanda tutored Amritpal Singh for ‘Mission Khalistan’
There are reports that Amritpal Singh was tutored for ‘Mission Khalistan’ by the Khalistani terrorist Avtar Singh Khanda who has direct connections with banned Babbar Khalsa International leader Pamma. It is believed that these three worked together to steer Punjab further into terrorism.
The entire conspiracy was exposed after the authorities recovered weapons from the hideouts of Amritpal Singh. Amritpal’s gang was putting together the Anandpur Khalsa Force (AKF) with the aid of ISI and Babbar Khalsa. According to the reports, both the jackets and the firearms have AKF written on them. His home in the village of Jallukheda has been searched for several pieces of ammunition and weapons.
Khanda and his connections with several terrorist organizations
Khanda who was arrested by the authorities on March 20, was associated with a pro-Khalistani organization named Dal Khalsa. He had been a part of a rally organized by Dal Khalsa in 2012. He had also been promoting Khalistani activities on social media and instigating the youth.
According to a Twitter thread shared by one Navdeep Singh, Khanda has also served as a news anchor for Ktv Global (Khalsa Television Global), a prominent Khalistani channel that has been off the air since March 31, 2022. The license of Khalsa Television Limited was then suspended due to a serious breach of the broadcasting rules. Later, he worked as a journalist for USMI News, a channel run by ‘Sikh For Justice’.
Khanda further is believed to have shared close ties with Mahboob Ali, leader of the outlawed Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
The Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) was founded in 1980 and it has been quite active in Canada and England since then. Following Operation Blue Star, this terrorist group detonated the bomb aboard an Air India flight. The majority of its members today are hiding in Pakistan. Pamma is also believed to be in Pakistan. According to agencies, the Anandpur Khalsa Force created by Amritpal was misappropriating funds in the name of Khalistan, and his uncle, Harjit Singh, was helping in the misappropriation.
The report further states that Pamma frequently enrolls young Sikhs in training sessions to radicalise them. Notably, the trio has been attempting to destabilise Punjab by exposing young Sikhs to extremist ideologies. Khanda provides online tutorials from Glasgow and Birmingham on how to create improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with readily accessible chemicals. Supporters of Khalistan in the West meanwhile have actively lobbied their radical agenda against India on American, Canadian, and British land while raising money for Khalistan terror organizations, frequently utilizing illegal hawala networks for wire transfers.
Amritpal Singh, who publicly advocates for Khalistan as a separate country, is complicit in Pakistan’s plot to resurrect insurgency in the border state. Amritpal Singh was given money during his stay in Dubai, which serves as a center for 151 agents, to resurrect the Khalistan cause in Punjab. Before his travel to India, ISI had sent him to Georgia for training.
Singh also has good connections with ‘Sikh For Justice’ chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun who has been designated as a terrorist by the Indian government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Singh has led several social media campaigns for Pannun.
Moreover, authorities have discovered that Amritpal Singh was forming a “private militia” in Punjab drug rehabilitation facilities where weapons imported from Pakistan were being stored, while simultaneously running a narcotics smuggling network in India with the help of the ISI.
The agencies elaborated on Amritpal’s drug and weapon-related operations, saying that he was bringing narcotics into India via Jaswant Singh Rode, brother of Pakistan-based Lakhbir Singh Rode, as well as Pamma.
It should be emphasized that Amritpal is still on the run, while a massive search effort is underway throughout the state, several soldiers have been stationed in Amritpal’s home village of Lallukheda. More than 120 people have been taken into custody so far including his driver and his uncle. Reportedly, Harjit Singh Amritpal’s uncle has been transported by the Punjab Police to the Dibrugarh prison in Assam.