Explained: How three Khalistani terrorists died suddenly in past two months

Three Khalistani terrorists have died suddenly over the past two months. Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead at a gurdwara in British Columbia on Monday. The development comes after prominent pro-Khalistani activist Avtar Singh Khanda passed away at a Birmingham hospital last week and Khalistani terrorist Paramjit Singh Panjwar died in May at the hands of unidentified gunmen. Let’s take a closer look at how the Khalistani terrorists met their end: Hardeep Singh Nijjar According to The Print, Nijjar was shot dead by two unidentified assailants on the premises of a gurudwara in Surrey. Nijjar, the head of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, was killed in the western Canadian province around 6 am IST Monday.

As per The Hindu, the assailants fired on Nijjar, who was in his car, from close range and fled the scene.

Nijjar was running the gurudwara himself for the past four years – giving rise to speculation that funds from the shrine were being embezzled for funding terror activities in Punjab. Nijjar was designated a terrorist by India under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in July 2020 and his property in the country was attached by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in September 2020. Interpol Red Corner Notice was also issued against him in 2016. The local police of Surrey had also put Nijjar under house arrest temporarily in 2018 on suspicion of his terror involvement but he was released later. According to India Today, the World Sikh Organisation of Canada has accused India’s intelligence agencies of having a hand in Nijjar’s death. The group demanded that Canada “fully investigate the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, including the role of foreign interference, specifically from India” and claimed that Nijjar was worried he would be “targeted by Indian intelligence agencies”. Nijjar, a native of village Bhar Singh Pura in Jalandhar, Punjab, had a long tryst with Khalistan militancy since migrating to Canada in 1995. Initially, an operative of Babbar Khalsa, he was involved in some of the most high-profile terror cases of the first decade of the millennium including the Shingar Cinema bomb blast (Ludhiana, 2007) and the assassination of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat President Rulda Singh (Patiala, 2009). He was introduced to Pakistan-based fugitive KTF supremo Jagtar Singh Tara, now incarcerated in India, in 2011 and switched to the newly formed KTF. He kept on meeting Tara in Pakistan in the annual jathas, during which he was allegedly trained in the fabrication of IEDs and handling of high-end guns. Nijjar also funded Tara handsomely from Canada and financed his shifting of base from Pakistan to Thailand in 2014, officials said. When Tara was facing deportation from Thailand in late 2014, Nijjar made frantic efforts to stop it, making multiple rounds of Thailand and Pakistan. The next year, Nijjar trained three Sikh youths in handling AK-47 and Russian sniper guns in the hilly terrain of Mission City, British Columbia before sending them to India for targeting some senior police officials and popular Dera leaders, officials alleged. After a hiatus of about half a decade, Nijjar again made headlines with the surfacing of his name in multiple terror cases in quick succession including the killing of Dera follower Manohar Lal Arora (November 2020) and former Sarpanch of village Udhampur (Ropar) Avtar Singh (December 2021) and attempted killing of Bhar Singh Pura village priest Pragya Gyan Muni (January 2021). Nijjar was learnt to have formed an alliance with fellow Surrey-based Punjabi gangster Arshdeep Singh Gill alias Arsh Dala and off late delved into organised financial crimes both in Punjab and in Canada in order to finance his terror plans, they said. This latest venture had reportedly made Nijjar a target of the warring criminal gangs operational in Surrey-Delta area. Since early 2019, Nijar was roped in by the US-based Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) leadership to steer its so-called ‘Referendum 2020’ campaign in Canada. Since then, Nijjar had remained a constant face in the SFJ-sponsored demonstrations and car rallies in the Surrey-Vancouver area. He was often seen desecrating the Indian national flag outside the Indian Consulate of Vancouver on days of national significance to India. Nijjar also played a prominent role in the ‘Referendum voting’ in Brampton and Mississauga (Ontario) last year, they said. When his body was being moved from the scene by the Canadian police, a group of Sikhs raised pro-Khalistan and anti-India slogans, according to the officials. Paramjit Singh Panjwar In May, Panjwar was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen while he was out for a morning walk near his residence in Lahore, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province. [caption id=“attachment_12766022” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Paramjit Singh Panjwar was killed in Lahore on 6 May. News18[/caption] According to The Hindu, Panjwar was being escorted by two guards in Sunflower Housing Society in Lahore’s Johar on 6 May when the gunmen on a motorcycle shot him in the head and drove away.

Panjwar, 63, was heading the Khalistan Commando Force-Panjwar group.

He was also designated as a terrorist by India under the UAPA in July 2020. As per Indian Express, Panjwar was born in 1960 in Tarn Taran’s Panjwar village. Panjwar had been operating out of Lahore. According to India Today, Panjwar was attempting to revive the Sikh insurgency through murder, drug and weapons smuggling. Avtar Singh Khanda Khanda, a prominent pro-Khalistani activist, died at a hospital in the city of Birmingham last week after a prolonged illness. Khanda, who was involved in the attack on the Indian High Commission in London, was also the ‘mentor’ of Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh. Khanda was in contact with Singh while he was on the run and had helped him evade authorities for 37 days, as per The Print. [caption id=“attachment_12741512” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] File picture of Avtar Singh Khanda. Image Courtesy: Twitter/@Adityarajkaul[/caption] The Sikh Federation UK said Avtar Singh was terminally ill with blood cancer.

But according to Indian Express, some reports claimed Khanda had been suffering from food poisoning.

As per Hindustan Times, some reporters of Khanda had claimed he was poisoned and have pointed the finger at Indian security agencies. Wanted in connection with the conspiracy to kill Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini and senior advocate Rajwinder Singh Bains, Khanda was allegedly involved in terrorist activities in the UK and had joined the banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) remnants active in Britain and other countries. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .