Pro-Khalistan terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode has reportedly died of a heart attack in Pakistan. Rode, nephew of the slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was the self-styled chief of the banned outfits Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and International Sikh Youth Federation (ISFY). According to reports in the media, the news of Lakhbir Singh Rode's demise was confirmed by his brother and former Akal Takht Jathedar, Jasbir Singh Rode. He was reportedly cremated a day after he passed away.
Lakhbir Singh was listed as an ‘individual terrorist’ under the UA(P)A and had fled to Pakistan around 1996-1997. He was 72 when he passed away.
Earlier in October, the National Investigation Agency Special Court in Punjab's Mohali had ordered the confiscation of land belonging to Lakhbir Singh under Section 33 (5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The court order stems from the registration of the case on October 1, 2021, which pertains to multiple charges, including sections 3, 4, 5 & 6 of the Explosive Substances Act 1908; sections 16, 17, 18, 18B, 20, 38 & 39 of UA(P) Act 1967, Section 21B, 27A, 29 of NDPS Act 1985, and section 120B of IPC.
According to officials, the case was originally registered on September 16, 2021, under Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act at City Jalalabad police station, and involves a tiffin bomb blast that occurred on September 15, 2021, around 07:57 p.m. near Punjab National Bank in Jalalabad town. The investigations revealed that Lakhbir was the mastermind of the whole conspiracy. “Working in collusion with his Pakistan-based ‘masters’, Lakhbir Singh played a key role in sending consignments of terror hardware, including arms, ammunition, custom-made Tiffin bombs, grenades, explosives as well as drugs, to carry out terrorist acts, particularly bomb blasts, to instil fear and terror among the people of Punjab,” said the official according to an IANS report.
