Happy Phd’s body may not be sent back
THE KLF LEADER’S PARENTS, AVTAR SINGH AND KHUSHBIR KAUR, LIVE IN AMRITSAR’S CHHEHARTA AREA
NEW DELHI: The Amritsar-based parents of killed Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harmeet Singh, aka Happy PHD, want Islamabad to return his body for cremation but HT learns that this is unlikely to happen because the terrorist was living under a false identity at Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan.
The KLF terrorist, a close associate of Lakhbir Singh Rode of the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), was gunned down by a local gang at the Dera Chahal gurdwara in Lahore on Monday.
The killing, HT learns, was over a financial dispute related to the drug trade. Nicknamed Happy Phd because he was once a doctoral student (religious studies) at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar side. Experts said the presence of a terrorist wanted in India will not help Islamabad’s standard denial about nurturing pro-khalistan terrorists.
Documents reviewed by HT show that while Happy’s parents, father Avtar Singh and mother Khushbir Kaur, lived in Amritsar’s Chheharta area, his Pakistan documents identify him as 37-year-old Bhupinder Singh. According to his identity card, given to him according to security officials by Pakistan’s deep state, Happy was Bhupinder Singh, son of Sant Singh, Mohalla Balila Nard, Gurudwara Pati Saheb, Nankana Saheb. The December 12, 1983born Happy’s religious identity card was valid till May 31, 2024.
“For the past three decades, India has been raising the issue of Pakistan fanning secessionist movements, including the Khalistan one, with Islamabad, but to no avail. The last time this issue was raised was during negotiations for the Kartarpur corridor in 2018. The fact is that Happy’s body will never be released or even shown to the world. His name will simply be wiped out by Rawalpindi GHQ,” said a senior South Block official, who asked not to be named.
According to Pakistan watchers, Rawalpindi is funding the Khalistan movement with heroin drug money; vast quantities of the drug from Afghanistan are making it to Indian Punjab. Since August 2019, 221kg of heroin has been seized by the Punjab Police.