Overview
- Lakhbir Singh Rode, a Khalistani terrorist and head of the Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), has died in Pakistan at the age of 72 due to a heart attack.
- Rode was accused in the 1985 bombing of the Air India jet Kanishka and was listed as an 'individual terrorist' under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
- Rode had been operating from Pakistan for several years, running the banned Khalistan Liberation Force and was suspected of working closely with the Pakistani government to launch attacks against India.
- Recently, a court in India ordered the confiscation of Rode's land in Punjab's Moga district under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
- Rode was also linked to the killing of Shaurya Chakra awardee Comrade Balwinder Singh in 2020 and the Ludhiana Court blast of 2021.