India declares Canada-based gangster Lakhbir Singh Landa as terrorist

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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has designated Canada-based gangster Lakhbir Singh Landa as a terrorist.

The move comes amid the continuing strain in diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Ottawa over PM Justin Trudeau’s claim earlier of Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Nijjar on Canadian soil.

According to an official release by the MHA, 34-year-old Landa comes from Harike in Tarn Taran district of Punjab.

Landa currently lives in Edmonton, Canada, and is a member of Babbar Khalsa International. According to the MHA, Babbar Khalsa International is listed as a terrorist organisation.

Landa was backed by the cross-border agency and was involved in the terror attack through a shoulder-mounted rocket-propelled grenade on the building of Punjab’s State Intelligence Headquarters at Mohali, the MHA added.

He was also “involved in the supply of IEDs, arms, sophisticated weapons and explosives from across the border to various modules for carrying out terrorist activities in Punjab”, according to the MHA release.

An open-ended warrant has been issued against Landa and he is a subject of a Look Out Circular, the statement added.