Family of Sikh activist call for new UK investigation into his death

Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Kiran Stacey
Tue, 19 December 2023 a

Photograph: handout

The family of the late Sikh activist Avtar Singh Khanda have called on the Home Office to appoint a police force to conduct a full and independent investigation into his sudden death last June, which coincided with a murder and an attempted murder of Sikh separatists in Canada and the US.

Khanda’s family lawyer, Michael Polak, said that a decision by the Home Office to launch an investigation would alleviate concerns among the Sikh community that they could be targeted by India and that their safety and rights were being sacrificed for “political expediency”.

The Home Office declined to comment.

At the cente of the controversy lies the case of the 35-year-old asylum seeker who was based in Birmingham and was a vocal advocate of the Khalistan movement, which supports the creation of a separate Sikh state.

Khanda died on 15 June in a Birmingham hospital, after what was later deemed to be a case of acute myeloid leukemia.

In the years and months before his death, Khanda was – friends and family say – the subject of an intense harassment campaign that played out in the Indian press, where he was falsely accused of taking part in a protest at the Indian high commission in London last March. Khanda was never charged or convicted of any crimes in connection to the protest in the UK. In the months before he died Khanda was repeatedly called by Indian police, who also questioned and detained his mother and sister.

While West Midlands police initially insisted that the matter had been thoroughly investigated, it appeared to backtrack after questions by the Guardian about the nature of the investigation, including allegations that the police never inspected Khanda’s residence or interviewed his friends and colleagues after his death.

Citing a recent move to place West Midlands police under special measures for, among other allegations, failing to properly investigate crimes, Khanda’s family have requested the Home Office appoint another police force to investigate his death. They are seeking a response from the Home Office by 29 December.

Related: ‘Police said I’m in danger’: Sikh activists on edge worldwide after Vancouver killing

New questions are being raised about the handling of the matter as details have emerged in Canada and the US about the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist, and an alleged plot to murder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York-based lawyer who is organising a symbolic Khalistan referendum to be held in California next month.

“Avtar died within the same period that Mr Nijjar was assassinated by an Indian agent in Canada, and when an attempt was made to kill Mr Pannun in the USA on behalf of the Indian regime,” said Polak. “The family’s request for a diligent and objective review by a different police force in this matter is reasonable and one that we hope the home secretary will grant.”

West Midland police have declined to provide further comment on the matter.

The Biden administration has emphasised the need to maintain a strong relationship with India as an ally to counter China. But the courting of the government of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, did not stop the Department of Justice from unsealing a criminal indictment recently that accused an unnamed Indian government official of orchestrating an attempted murder of a US attorney – Pannun – on US soil.

It followed remarks by the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who claimed in October that India had a hand in the murder of Nijjar outside his place of worship in British Columbia.

The Indian government has said it would investigate the claims.

The UK government has not publicly weighed in on questions about Khanda’s death, apart from some Foreign Office ministers saying the matter had been thoroughly reviewed by police.

Like the US, the UK has sought to ensure India can provide a bulwark to China’s geopolitical power and ambitions. But more pressingly, London is trying to secure a multibillion-pound free trade agreement with New Delhi in time for elections in both countries next year. Downing Street officials recently travelled to the Indian capital, with sources saying that negotiations are reaching their final stages.

“The months of silence by the UK government in relation to the shocking revelations of the Indian government’s transnational repression have been very disturbing to British Sikhs,” said Jas Singh, an adviser to the Sikh Federation (UK). “The UK government cannot continue to ignore the illegal activities of the Indian government against Sikhs. There are many cases and examples of foreign interference and undue influence on UK policy.”