Canada-based Khalistani terrorists linked in killing of Shaurya Chakra awardee: NIA
- In Reports
- 06:12 PM, Oct 16, 2024
- Myind Staff
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has informed the Supreme Court that operatives of the banned terrorist group Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), based in Canada, were behind the murder of a teacher who received the Shaurya Chakra award in Punjab in 2020. This announcement comes amid worsening relations between Canada and India over the investigation into the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
In October 2020, Balwinder Singh Sandhu was shot dead outside his home in Bhikhiwind, Tarn Taran district. Sandhu's efforts to combat militancy in the state during the 1990s earned him the Shaurya Chakra. In a detailed 111-page affidavit, the NIA reported that the arrested individuals admitted they were instructed to carry out the crime by Sukhmeet Pal Singh, also known as Sunny Toronto, who is a Khalistan Liberation Force member living in Canada. They were also directed by Lakhveer Singh, nicknamed Rode, who is the nephew of the late Khalistani separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
In the NIA chargesheet, Sunny Toronto and Lakhveer Singh are both listed as accused and depicted as fugitives. The two allegedly planned to destroy "anti-Khalistan entities in India" as they believed doing so would help resurrect the Khalistani movement, according to the anti-terror agency. According to the NIA, Sunny Toronto and Lakhveer Singh enlisted Sukhmeet Pal Singh to carry out the murder in an effort to revive terrorism in India, particularly in Punjab. For Sandhu's murder, Sunny Toronto also contacted radicalised Punjabi youth, such as Inderjit Singh, also known as Inder.
"The main objective of the Khalistan Liberation Force is to create Khalistan by means of an armed struggle," said the NIA in its affidavit. The agency added that the KLF leadership believes they can resurrect the Khalistan movement by focusing on members of particular communities in order to divide Punjabi society along communal lines.
"Organisations and persons who oppose the ideology of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale are the prime targets of the group", read the affidavit. This conspiracy began to target Balwinder Singh Sandhu.
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