Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh dies in Pakistan, says brother

“We have been informed by the son of my brother Lakhbir Singh Rode that he died of heart attack in Pakistan and has been cremated there. He was highly diabetic. His two sons, a daughter and wife live in Canada,” Jasbir Singh told the The Indian Express.

A native of village Rode in Moga, Lakhbir Singh had initially fled to Dubai. He later moved to Pakistan but kept his family in Canada. In 2002, India had submitted a list of 20 terrorists demanding their extradition from Pakistan.

According to Union government’s dossier on Lakhbir Singh, “ISYF opened its chapters at various places in United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and the United States of America. Lakhbir Singh is allegedly engaged in sending weapons and explosives consignments from across the border to India to carry out terrorist activities in Punjab and to target various Very Very Important Persons (VVIPs) and political leaders.”

In recent years, he was accused of hiring gangsters to carry out attacks in Punjab.

Shiromani Akali Dal Badal’s former Khemkaran MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha paid homage to Rode on his Facebook page. Virsa shared a picture of Rode and wrote in Punjabi, “Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa’s nephews and elder brother of Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode brother Bhai Lakhbir Singh Rode, passed away at the age of 72, separating from the mortal world. May Waheguru grant his Sikh a place at his divine feet.”

Earlier this year, the NIA confiscated a piece of land belonging to Lakhbir Singh at village Kothe Gurupura village in Moga. A notice put up by the NIA said that one-fourth share in the land measuring 43 kanal 3 marlas belonged to Lakhbir Singh was being confiscated following an NIA court order.

The court order dated October 5 stemmed from a case registered by the NIA in Delhi on October 1, 2021, which pertains to multiple charges, including Sections 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, Sections 16, 17, 18, 18B, 20, 38 and 39 of the UA(P)A Act, 1967, Sections 21B, 27A, and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985, and Section 120B of the IPC.

This case involves a tiffin bomb blast that occurred on September 15, 2021, around 7:57 pm, near Punjab National Bank, Jalalabad town in Fazilka district, Punjab. The NIA probe had revealed that Lakhbir Singh had masterminded the whole conspiracy in collusion with his Pakistan-based ‘masters’. He had also played a key role in sending consignments of 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 earlier said.

The NIA is investigating six cases against Lakhbir Singh for his alleged ‘active involvement’ in terror-related activities between 2021-2023.

His criminal dossier includes armed attacks on law enforcement personnel, orchestrating IED and bomb blasts, targeted killings of members of the minority community, extortion, fundraising for terrorist operations, and instilling terror among the general populace.