Was Khalistani Separatist Who Defiled Tricolour In UK ‘Poisoned’? Family Seeks New Probe

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Last Updated:July 02, 2025, 18:55 IST

The family of UK-based Khalistani separatist Avtar Singh Khanda is now demanding a fresh probe into his death.

The family of Avtar Singh Khanda, a Khalistani separatist and a close contact of separatist Amritpal Singh, is seeking a fresh probe into his death after a pathologist found the result of the postmortem exam “does not mean that a poisoning can be completely excluded", UK-based newspaper the Guardian said in a report.

Khanda died aged of 35 in June 2023, fours days after he was admitted to a hospital in Birmingham feeling unwell. The official cause of death was acute myeloid leukaemia, a blood cancer.

However, the newspaper recently said the Khanda family’s lawyer, Michael Polak, has written to West Midlands coroner Louise Hunt, asking her to reverse her earlier decision not to open a full inquest.

The family claims that toxicology tests were incomplete, and no tests were done for nerve agents, biological agents or radioactive substances. They claimed that these substances could, in theory, cause a sudden and aggressive form of cancer like the one Khanda died of.

While UK authorities had earlier stated that there was no evidence of foul play in Khanda’s death, a letter submitted by the family’s lawyer, Michael Polak, challenges that conclusion. Polak’s letter to the West Midlands coroner cites a witness statement from Jaswinder Singh, a close friend of Khanda and an adviser to the Sikh Federation UK. In the statement, Singh alleges that during a 2024 meeting, West Midlands police admitted their investigation did not involve a thorough review of Khanda’s digital devices, such as his phones and laptop, nor did it include interviews with friends, colleagues, or a search of his residence.

A forensic pathologist commissioned by the family of Avtar Singh Khanda has raised the possibility that his sudden death from acute leukemia could be linked to exposure to exotic poisons, and has urged further investigation.

Michael Polak, a lawyer representing Khanda’s family, submitted a letter to the West Midlands coroner that includes a report by consultant forensic pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl. The doctor reviewed Khanda’s death certificate, hospital records and toxicology results, and suggested that “consideration should be given as to whether the deceased could have been exposed to substances that may result in the development of an acute leukaemia."

While the toxicological analysis conducted in hospital “did not provide any unusual results," Fegan-Earl noted in his report that “the limitations of such analysis must be borne in mind," adding that “not all poisons leave behind them a defined clinical signature" and some require specialist testing to detect.

“I make no criticism of the toxicology that has been carried out in this case," he said, “but hope that the above highlights that a negative drug screen does not mean that a poisoning can be completely excluded, particularly with the use of more exotic substances that are not frequently encountered."

Drawing on his previous experience, Fegan-Earl added: “I have been involved with a number of cases where there has been suspicion of poisoning by unusual agents. One case … required extremely specialised testing at Kew Gardens … two other cases involved potential poisoning by foreign powers."

“These involved the use of multiple experts above and beyond the normal expertise of toxicologists, including expertise from Porton Down. There are some poisons that can only be identified if they are suspected."

Some Experts Appears To Disagree

Five British experts in blood cancer have pushed back against claims that Avtar Singh Khanda, a prominent UK-based Khalistan separatist, was poisoned, according to a defence news website Defence.in.

Khanda, a senior figure in the banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), had also been a vocal backer of Amritpal Singh. He drew wider attention in March 2023 after being seen in a cellphone video during a protest at the Indian High Commission in London, where the Indian national flag was torn down.

Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has covered sev...Read More

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