Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode dies of heart attack in Pakistan

The 72-year-old was among the 20 most wanted terrorists whose extradition India has sought from Pakistan

New Delhi: Khalistani separatist Lakhbir Singh alias Rode, among India's 'most wanted' terrorists, has died in Pakistan where he had fled after his uncle Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was killed in 1984, authorities said on Tuesday.

The 72-year-old Khalistani terrorist, whose ancestral village was at Rode in Moga district in Punjab, died at a hospital in Rawalpindi following a massive heart attack, the officials confirmed.

Some reports also suggest that he died on Monday while others indicate that he breathed his last on Saturday.

The self-styled chief of banned Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF) was an accused in various cases and had a Red Corner notice issued by the Interpol on India's request.

He was actively engaged in ferrying weapons and explosives to India from across the border to carry out terrorist activities in Punjab.

The dossier prepared by the security agencies read that various accused arrested by Punjab Police had confirmed during interrogation that they were in contact with Rode and had carried consignments of arms, ammunition and explosives to India at Rode's instance for subversive activities for Khalistan movement.

They were also asked to terrorize people besides targeting Very Very Important Persons (VVIPs) and political leaders, the dossier read.

Rode was heading the banned terror group Internation Sikh Youth Federation. He had also opened the terror group offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and the US and was propagating a "Khalistan through violent means", the dossier said.

He joined the Khalistan movement in 1982 after returning to Punjab from Dubai. After the 1984 storming of the Golden Temple, Singh fled to Nepal from where he shifted his base to Dubai again in 1986.

After settling his family in Canada, Rode came to Lahore where he was residing since 1991.

He is among the 20 most wanted terrorists whose extradition India has sought from Pakistan in the wake of the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament by a five-member group of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists.

In October, an NIA court in Mohali ordered confiscation of land belonging to Rode at Kothe Gurupura (Rode) village of Smalsar Police station under section 33(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.

The order came in a case registered by the NIA on January 1, 2021 under various sections of the UAPA, Indian Penal Code and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances act.

Rode was booked by Punjab Police initially for his alleged involvement in a tiffin bomb blast case that took place on September 15, 2021 in Jalalabad town of Fazilka district of Punjab.

Investigators claimed that he was the mastermind behind the entire conspiracy.

The probe indicated he was working in collusion with his Pakistan-based 'masters' and he had played a key role in sending consignments of terrorist 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, the NIA had said in an official statement.

The NIA was investigating six cases against him for his active involvement in terror activities between 2021 and 2023.

Rode was accused of engaging in a wide array of terror activities and his criminal dossier includes armed attacks on law-enforcement personnel, orchestrating IED and bomb blasts, targeted killings of members of the minority community, extortion, fund-raising for terrorist operations, and instilling terror among the general populace.