• By Abhirupa Kundu
  • Tue, 03 Oct 2023 01:18 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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Sikh Separatist leader and pro-Khalistan supporter Avtar Singh Khanda's family sought a formal inquest into his death from the chief coroner for England and Wales. Khanda who was the principal orchestrator of the violence at the Indian High Commission in London, died last year in June after he was admitted to a hospital in Birmingham due to sudden illness.

According to the post-mortem examination, the official cause of death was found to be acute myeloid leukemia (blood cancer). The family's plea comes just as Khalistani supporters staged an anti-India protest outside the Indian High Commission in London on Monday, reported news agency IANS.  

It also coincides with the India-Canada row that was triggered after Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegation of New Delhi's involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. 

Both Nijjar and Khanda were associated with Khalistani outfits banned as terror groups in India.

According to a Guardian report, the call for an inquest is being led by advocate Michael Polak, who alleged that the British police should have understood that Khanda was potentially in danger.

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"If it was happening in a vacuum and we believed India was a law-abiding country, we would say that it is unlucky. But there were threats against him and he was named as enemy No 1 (in the media). At the very least it is suspicious," Polak told the Guardian.

Khanda's family has claimed that they have not received medical records or evidence that backs the diagnosis of blood cancer. His mother, who was not able to attend the funeral after allegedly being denied a visa by the Home Office, said she believed he was poisoned, the news report stated.

The West Midlands police said they had undertaken a "thorough review" of Khanda's death and that they had concluded there were "no suspicious circumstances". 

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