Avtar Singh Khanda, a close aide of Amritpal Singh and one of the main accused in connection with the protests at the Indian High Commission in London earlier this year, died today in the UK.
Khanda was the chief of the UK-based terrorist group Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF).
According to a report by Tribune, Khanda had been on life support in the London hospital for some days. He was admitted to the hospital on Monday. While the exact cause of his death is yet to be ascertained, some reports suggested food poisoning, while others claimed that he succumbed to blood cancer.
In March, supporters of Khalistan were protesting at the High Commission of India in London with pro-Khalistan slogans. Amid the protests, one person climbed the mission's balcony and brought down the Indian flag. The protesters were also seen waving Khalistani flags during the protest.
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In a video of the incident, the man is seen on the balcony bringing down the Indian flag. Towards the end of the video, a man believed to be an Indian official comes to the balcony from inside the mission and snatches the flag before the protestor could do any further vandalism.
India had registered strong protest over the incident, calling it "unacceptable", and further demanded an explanation over the incident and flagged the complete lack of security.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had identified Khanda and three other separatists as the main accused in connection with the incident.
Khanda has also been credited with playing a key role in establishing Amritpal Singh as the chief of Waris Punjab De after the death of Deep Sidhu.
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Meanwhile, Amritpal Singh who was on large, was arrested by the Punjab police in Moga district on 23 March and charged with crimes relating to disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servant.
