Avtar Singh Khanda, a pro-Khalistan activist residing in the UK who assisted Waris Punjab De leader Amritpal Singh while he was evading the Punjab Police, has died. He was found in a hospital in Birmingham, UK.

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Khanda, a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar, was given a hospital admission on Monday. Although the precise cause of his passing is still unknown, some publications have speculated that he may have died of food poisoning while others have said he had blood cancer.

A medical report from Sandwell Hospital, where he died, is awaited.

Khanda, also known as Ranjodh Singh, was a political asylum seeker in the UK who played a key role in energising the Sikh young to support the separatist cause for so-called Khalistan. His mother was related to another KLF terrorist, Gurjant Singh Budhsingwala, who had close ties to the Pakistani deep state, and his father was a KLF terrorist who was shot dead by security authorities in 1991.

The National Investigating Agency has named Khanda as the main suspect for disrespecting the Indian flag at the London High Commission on March 19 during a planned protest, along with three other separatists. The Indian High Commission had warned the UK intelligence agency MI-5 about the expected violence on March 19, yet the UK Police stood out for taking no action against the demonstrators.

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