UK-based activist Khanda’s mother among 3 detained

Moga, April 12

The police have reportedly detained Charanjit Kaur (65), mother of pro-Khalistan activist Avtar Singh Khanda, from her house located in the vicinity of the old town area of the city on Wednesday.

The Counter Intelligence team was working on illegal money transfers through hawala and Charanjit Kaur was likely to be questioned in this regard, said a senior police official on the condition of anonymity.

Khanda, an asylum seeker in the UK, was arrested by the British police for pulling down the Tricolour at the Indian Embassy in London on March 19. Investigations in the Amritpal Singh case revealed that Khanda trained him in Dubai to keep the Khalistan movement alive before he (Amritpal) came to India.

Mehna CIA-staff in-charge Inspector Kikkar Singh said Charanjit Kaur was picked-up by the Counter Intelligence wing of the Punjab Police, Ludhiana unit.

Meanwhile, it was also learnt that Khanda’s younger sister had also been picked-up from a Mohali hospital where she was working as a nurse. However, no further details were available on her detention.

A senior police officer confirmed that they had also picked-up Hardeep Singh, alias Deepa, of Dhurkot Charat Singh Wala village on Tuesday and sent him to Ludhiana in the custody of the Counter Intelligence wing. He was arrested in the Amritpal case.

However, Deepa’s association with Amritpal is not yet known. Reportedly, Khanda was in contact with Punjabi actor-turned pro-Khalistan activist Deep Sidhu, who was killed in a road accident on February 15, 2022. Khanda is on the list of “most-wanted” terrorists who have been allegedly giving training on explosives to Sikh youths in UK-based religious institutions.

Earlier, he was an aide of Babbar Khalsa International leader Paramjit Singh Pamma. He allegedly introduced Amritpal to Pamma. The Anandpur Khalsa Force was formed by Amritpal with the help of Pamma under the guidance of Khanda, police officials claimed.