In June of last year, a Khalistani leader named Hardeep Singh Nijjar was assassinated in Canada, raising concerns about India’s involvement. After Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised these allegations in Parliament, India and Canada have experienced strained diplomatic relations. Similar incidents involving the deaths of several Khalistani leaders have occurred in different parts of the world in the past year.
These incidents include the assassination of Paramjit Singh Panjwar, the leader of Khalistan Commando Force, in Hero, Pakistan (6th May); the death of Avtar Singh Khanda, the head of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), in a hospital in the UK (14th June); and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a parking lot in Canada (18th June).
Furthermore, about three years ago in January 2020, another Khalistani leader named Harmeet Singh Happy, associated with KLF, was also assassinated near Dera Chahal Gurudwara, Lahore, Pakistan.
Following these deaths, various Khalistani Sikh organizations have publicly or through social media channels raised allegations, suggesting the involvement of India or Indian intelligence agencies. However, the Indian government has consistently denied any involvement.
Canada’s government has questioned India’s role in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar assassination case, leading to renewed scrutiny of these incidents. This report revisits the incidents and seeks to understand the aftermath and what has transpired after investigations into these events.
Harmit Singh Happy was a youth from Amritsar who held a doctorate degree and was known to his followers as “Happy PhD.” In 2014, when the leader of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), Harminder Mintoo, was arrested in Thailand by Punjab Police, the leadership of that organization came under the control of Harmit Singh.
When the Punjab Police began searching for him in connection with the murder of leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Dera Sacha Sauda members in Punjab, he went underground. He later crossed over to Pakistan and prepared a hideout near a gurdwara in Lahore.
He was also wanted in India for alleged involvement in drug smuggling and counterfeit currency smuggling from Pakistan to India. Indian authorities had issued warrants against him in connection with these cases.
In 2019, during an interview with the “Tribune” newspaper in Punjab, Harmit Singh’s parents had appealed for him to surrender, even offering amnesty if he returned and surrendered to the Indian authorities.
In January 2020, it was reported in the Pakistani media that local criminals, with links to organized crime, had killed Harmit Singh Happy inside a gurdwara near Lahore. Although there have been claims of the involvement of Indian agencies in this assassination from the KLF’s side, no concrete evidence has been presented. Harmit Singh Happy’s body also never made its way to India, and there has been no formal investigation into this incident in Pakistan.
Paramjit Singh Panjwar (Lahore, 6th May 2023): Paramjit Singh Panjwar, like Harmit Singh Happy, was a leader of the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) and had been operating from within Pakistan for an extended period.
On 6th May (Saturday), while returning home in the morning, Paramjit Singh Panjwar was attacked by two armed assailants near his residence, resulting in his death.
The radical Sikh organization “Dal Khalsa” confirmed this information to the Indian Express newspaper, stating that even the bodyguards provided by the Pakistani government during the attack were present with him. However, one of the attackers was killed, while the other managed to escape.
Dal Khalsa’s statement indicated that the way the assassination was carried out, involving the killing of one attacker by the victim’s security, pointed towards the involvement of Indian agencies.
Although the news of Paramjit Singh’s murder was covered in the local media, the Pakistani government has not made any official statements regarding the incident.
