Canada-Based Babbar Khalsa's Lakhbir Singh Landa Declared Terrorist By Home Ministry

Canada-based Babbar Khalsa's Lakhbir Singh Landa declared a terrorist by Ministry of Home Affairs.

Canada-based Babbar Khalsa's Lakhbir Singh Landa declared a terrorist by Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has declared Canada-based Babbar Khalsa's Lakhbir Singh Landa a terrorist, news agency ANI reported on Saturday.

Canada-based Babbar Khalsa's Lakhbir Singh Landa declared a terrorist by Ministry of Home Affairs. pic.twitter.com/iz2eNhpxyt

— ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2023

According to an official statement by the MHA, 34-year-old Landa, son of Niranjan Singh and Parminder Kaur, has a permanent residence at VP0 Harike in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab, bordering Pakistan.

Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act Mt. 1967 (37 of 1967), "Clause (a) of sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) of section 35 of the said Act empowers the central government to add the name of an individual in the Fourth Schedule to the said Act if it believes that he is involved in terrorism", the MHA statement said. According to ANI, Landa currently resides in Edmonton, the capital of Alberta in Canada, and is a member of Babbar Khalsa International.

As per the MHA, Babbar Khalsa International is listed as a terrorist organisation as per "number I of the First Schedule to the said Act."

Landa was backed by the cross-border agency and was involved in the terror attack through a shoulder-mounted rocket-propelled grenade on the building of Punjab's State Intelligence Headquarters at Mohali, the MHA added.
He was also "involved in the supply of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), arms, sophisticated weapons, and explosives from across the border to various modules for carrying out terrorist activities in the State of Punjab, India", the MHA statement further read, as quoted by ANI.

"An open-ended warrant has been issued against Lakhbir Singh Landa and he is a subject of Look Out Circular No. 2144306 dated 09.06.2021," the statement added, as quoted by ANI.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Central Government hereby makes the following amendment in the Fourth Schedule to the said Act," the MHA stated.

Who Is Lakhbir Singh Landa?

Lakhbir Singh Landa is the key conspirator in the Mohali blast case wherein a Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) attack took place on the Punjab Police's Intelligence headquarters in Mohali on the evening of May 9, 2022, triggering a blast at the site. 

The Punjab Police had declared Landa as the key conspirator in the case. Apart from his alleged involvement in the RPG attack case, Landa has been involved in several other crimes including the killing of Gurjant Singh. The police had claimed that the Sarhali attack was carried out under the directions of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence. 

In August this year, the Special Court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) ordered the confiscation of the property of the absconding pro-Khalistan terrorist at Kirian village in the Tarn Taran district, as reported by ANI. According to the NIA court order under Section 33 (5) of the UA (P) Act, 1967, Landa's property in his native village was confiscated by the state. He was earlier declared a Proclaimed Offender on July 27, 2023.

The NIA had declared a cash reward of Rs 15 lakh against Landa.