Avtar Singh Khanda

Avtar Singh Khanda was a Sikh activist for the Khalistani independence movement and son of Kulwant Singh Khukhrana. He was raised in Moga, Punjab, India and saught asylum in the United Kingdom. He took part in demonstrations at the Indian High Commission in London in March 2023 where Indian news media allege he tore down the Indian flag. This allegation is contested and he was not arrested by the Metropolitan Police.

In June 2023, aged 35, he died in City Hospital, Birmingham following a diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Doubts were raised about the circumstances of his death in light of revelations surrounding the involvement of the Indian government in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Khalistani separatist. Khanda's father was killed by Indian security forces when he was a few years old. Widely reported, but unsubstantiated speculation, attributed his decline, from apparent health to hospitalisation and death within days, to poisoning by blood clotting agents. The West Midland Police concluded there were “no suspicious circumstances” surrounding his death. The Government of India has denied any involvement in his death.

References