Terrorist Santokh Singh Khela features in ‘Khalsa day’ parade in Canada: Read about his role in Kanishka Air India bombing and association with SFJ
On 20th April, Canada’s Conservative Party leader and candidate for the Prime Minister’s post in the General Elections, Pierre Poilievre, attended the Khalsa Day Parade in Surrey, British Columbia. He shared the stage with the Jathedar of the Khalistani terrorist organisation, Babbar Khalsa, Santokh Singh Khela, who is a convict in the Kanishka Air Bombing that killed 329 people, mostly Canadians.
At the event, slogans such as “Kill Modi Politics” were chanted, and images of Kanishka bomber Talwinder Singh Parmar were glorified.
In videos shared by investigative journalist Bezirgan Mocha, Khalistan flags were seen. Also, cut-outs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar were placed in a mock-up jail. All three cut-outs were dressed in orange prison outfits with handcuffs.
Mocha also shared a video of the speech given by Khela at the event. Khela, while holding an axe in his hand, stated, “We will keep fighting till Khalistan gets freedom.
We will fulfil the dream of Hardeep Bhai (Hardeep Singh Nijjar). We will lead the war for Khalistan.” There were posters of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar behind him on the stage.
Mocha also talked to Khela a day before the event. During the conversation, Khela admitted that he was convicted for conspiracy but refused to shed light on the details.
He was released six years after he was sent to prison for his crimes. However, he was released as the prosecution failed to prove his involvement in the bombing, reports suggest.
When asked if he was a Jathedar of Babbar Khalsa, a terrorist organisation, he said, “No, I am a sewadar of Khalsa Panth,” with a smile on his face.
When Mocha said he had the insignia of Babbar Khalsa on his back, he claimed it was the insignia of “Khalsa Panth”. He added, “We will continue the fight. We want to liberate Punjab from India. The fight will continue until we get the liberation, independent Khalistan. We are supporting the peaceful referendum which is going on.”
Shockingly, towards the end of the video, there were some Sikh youth donning t-shirts with AKF written on the back. AKF stands for Anandpur Khalistan Fouj, a new terrorist outfit that Khalistani separatist/preacher-turned-MP Amritpal Singh was raising at the time of his arrest. Amritpal Singh is currently lodged in Assam jail facing charges under the National Security Act (NSA). There were reports that his NSA was being revoked by the Punjab Government; however, recent reports suggest that it has been extended for another year.
Sikh youth wearing t-shirts with AKF logo spotted at Khalsa Parade in Canada. (Image: Left: Indian Express/ Right: SS from video shared by journalist Bezirgan Mocha)
Khela masterminded the Air India 112 bombing
In May 1986, five members of the terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa were charged with plotting to blow up Air India Flight 112. Months after the proceedings, while the Canadian court freed three men, it found Santokh Singh Khela and Kashmir Singh Dhillon guilty of conspiring to commit mass murder by blowing up Air India (AI) Flight 112 which originated at JFK airport in New York City. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987. The sentence was later overturned.
The Canadian government claimed that the alleged plot was conceived on 4th April 1986, targeting an Air India flight departing from John F Kennedy International Airport on May 30 in New York. All five men involved were from Montreal, Quebec. It was later revealed that Santokh Singh Khela had been under surveillance by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) since at least May 1985, when they recorded a phone call he made to Talwinder Singh Parmar, the mastermind of the Air India Flight 182 bombing.
When Khela and his associates were sentenced to life, Quebec Superior Court Justice Claire Barrette-Joncas said in her passing sentence that Santokh Singh Khela and Kashmir Singh Dhillon are examples to the world of how Canada treats terrorists.
“The crime you were found guilty of is so mind-boggling that the primary end of these sentences must be deterrence, a firm notice to you and any would-be terrorist that such conduct is not to be considered lightly in Canada,” she said.
However, six years later, he was aquitted as crown prosecutors failed to disclose crucial information, and Canadiam government had to issue an apology to him, which he had confirmed while talking to Mocha.
Khela was awarded by Ajaib Singh Bagri, a close associate of the mastermind of the Kanishka bombing and who pledged to kill 50,000 Hindus
As mentioned by journalist Mocha Bezirgan Santokh Singh Khela was this year, presented with an award in Calgary by Ajaib Singh Bagri. Notably, Ajaib Singh Bagri was a close associate of Talwinder Singh Parmar, the mastermind of the Kanishka bombing, which happened a year before the Air India Flight 110 bombing plot. Ajaib Singh Bagri is the same person who had also pledged to kill 50,000 Hindus.
The bombing of Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985, was one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in aviation history. The Boeing 747 aircraft, operating as “Kanishka” and en route from Montreal to London, was destroyed mid-air by a bomb, killing all 329 people on board, most of whom were Canadian citizens of Indian descent. The bomb was planted in the plane’s cargo hold, and it exploded over the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Ireland.
The investigation into the bombing revealed that the conspiracy had been planned and executed in Canada, where members of the Sikh terrorist group Babbar Khalsa, including Talwinder Singh Parmar and Inderjit Singh Reyat, were involved.
Pierre Trudeau is vastly blamed for the Kanishka bombing, as it was only after the Trudeau-led government saved Parmar he started preparing for the bombing. In 1984, Parmar told his fellow Khalistanis that “Indian planes will fall from the sky”.
In the same year, Ajaib Singh Bagri, a close associate of Parmar, pledged to kill 50,000 Hindus. He said at the founding convention of the World Sikh Organization, “Until we kill 50,000 Hindus, we will not rest!” It was reported by Milewski, who extensively covered the Khalistani movement in Canada and abroad.
To date, many consider the Kanishka bombing one of the darkest moments in Canada’s history, and it highlighted the growing influence of Khalistani extremists operating from within the country.
The bombing of Air India Flight 182 stands as a tragic reminder of the impact of terrorism and the long-lasting scars it leaves on victims’ families, while also bringing attention to the international dimensions of extremism.
Santokh Singh Khela is associated with the banned terrorist organisation Sikh for Justice
Khela is also the organiser for the Khalistan referendum conducted by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) at Dashmesh Gurdwara. Sikhs For Justice was banned by the Indian Government on July 10, 2019, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for anti-India activities. The Indian government designated its founder, Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a terrorist. The organization has announced Referendum 2020, demanding a separate state of Punjab from India. Since its inception, the organization has been trying to lure the youth of Punjab with monetary rewards for instigating war against the Indian government. A day ahead of the parade, he was seen preaching about the so-called Khalistan Referendum being organised by SFJ. He was also seen standing with pro-Khalistani Sikhs chanting “Khalistan Zindabad” in the video.
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