Harmeet Singh

Name: Harmeet Singh

Aliases: Happy PhD

Gender: Male

Place of Birth:

Date of Death: 27-Jan-2020

Death Place: Lahore, Pakistan

Citizenship: India

Current Residence: Pakistan

Organizational Affiliations: Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF)

Current Position: chief of KLF

Criminal Record/Court Cases/Charges: Various FIRs were filed in different Police Stations in India under sections of 307, 489, ABC, IPC, 25 Arms Act, UAPA, 120- B IPC, 153-A IPC, 25/54/59 Arms Act

Harmeet Singh

Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, the ‘chief’ of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), was actively involved in targeted killing of Hindu political figures and others who were allegedly involved in ‘anti-Panthik’ activity. He had also spotted and radicalized two individuals identified as Ramandeep Singh Rathore alias Canadian and Hardeep Singh alias Shera. They were involved in assassinating members and leaders of Shiv Sena, Christian and Dera Sach Sauda (DSS) members in Punjab from January 2016 to October 2017.

Harmeet Singh alias Happy was also involved in supplying grenade which was used in the November 2018 attack on Nirankari sect, at Amritsar. He has also developed linkages with drug smugglers in Punjab.

On January 27, 2020, Harmeet Singh was reportedly killed by a local gang over financial disputes stemming from drug smuggling at the Dera Chahal Gurudwara near Lahore in Pakistan. 


Dateline

Incident Date Incident Civilian Killed Military Killed Security Force Killed Civilian Injured Military Injured Security Force Injured Civilian Abducted Military Abducted Security Force Abducted
11-Jan-2022

Delhi Police, National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other central agencies, in a charge sheet, revealed that the Pakistani government has been conspiring for the last six years and misleading the youths of Punjab. In order to destabilize poll-bound Punjab, the Pakistani government and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) set up a K-2 (Kashmir-Khalistan) desk. From 2016 to 2020, at least eight murders and other attacks have been carried out by ISI through Khalistani terrorists in Pakistan and gangsters in Punjab. The attacks were designed to disturb the peace in Punjab and create an atmosphere of terror in the state. Pakistan allegedly planned to spread terror in Punjab after spoiling the lives of the youth through drugs. According to the chargesheet, Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, along with Khalistani terrorists Harmeet Singh alias Happy PHD, and Lakhbir Singh Rode, conducted targeted killings of RSS and Hindu leaders from 2016 to 2017. They aimed to fuel the ‘Khalistani Movement’ in Punjab through these activities. The ISI set up the K-2 desk and appointed its top officers to carry out terror activities in Punjab. These officers, on the directions of Lakhbir Singh Rode, used to supply funds to gangsters who fled to Gulf countries from Punjab.

22-Mar-2021

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a charge-sheet against seven Khalistani operatives namely – Jajbir Singh Samra aka Jazz aka Jass r/o Tarn Taran, Varinder Singh Chahal r/o Amritsar, Kulbir Singh r/o Nawan Shahar, Manjit Kaur r/o Ludhiana, Taranbir Singh aka Khanpuria r/o Amritsar, Kulwinderjit Singh aka Khanpuria {an operative of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI)}, and Harmeet Singh aka PhD {Pakistan based self-styled chief of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF)} in the NIA Special Court at Mohali in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar District of Punjab, says NIA. The accused were allegedly involved in a case pertaining to the recovery of two hand grenades and a mobile phone from a bag in Amritsar on June 2, 2019. A case was filed in Raja Sansi Police Station, Amritsar (Rural) vide FIR No. 90. NIA had re-registered the case as RC-07/2020/NIA/DLI and taken over the investigation. Investigation has revealed that accused Jajbir Singh Samra and Varinder Singh Chahal were part of a Narco-Terror module involved in distributing the heroin smuggled from Pakistan in order to channelize the proceeds of drugs to various terrorist entities on the directions of Pakistan based terrorist Harmeet Singh aka PhD. They had also picked up grenades and concealed the same at pre-decided location for carrying out terrorist act to further the conspiracy hatched by Harmeet Singh aka PhD and Kulwinderjit Singh aka Khanpuria. Investigation has also revealed that chargesheeted accused namely Kulbir Singh, Manjit Kaur and Taranbir Singh aka Khanpuria had harboured and provided logistics support including accommodation, business VISA for Kulwinderjit Singh aka Khanpuria in Cambodia and Malaysia when he had escaped from India.

18-Dec-2020

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet against 10 accused persons including designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the banned secessionist organization - Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) before the NIA Special Court at Mohali in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar District. Originally registered by Punjab Police at Sultanwind Police Station, Amritsar (City) on October 19, 2018, the case was subsequently re-registered by NIA on April 5, 2020. The case relates to series of acts of violence including acts of arson in Punjab during the year 2017-18, carrying out of propaganda activities both online and on ground campaigns in support of SFJ and ‘Referendum 2020’. These acts were committed by a gang of radicalised Sikh youth under direction and financial assistance from SFJ handlers located abroad as part of an organized conspiracy by the accused for launching a concerted secessionist campaign for the creation of ‘Khalistan’. The charge sheeted accused are – Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, r/o New York USA, Pargat Singh, Sukhraj Singh aka Raju, Bikramjit Singh aka Vicky, Manjeet Singh aka Manjit Singh aka Manga, Jatinder Singh aka Goldi, Gurwinder Singh aka Gurpreet Singh aka Gopi, Harmeet Singh aka Happy, Kuldeep Singh aka Kuldip Singh aka Keepaand and Harmeet Singh aka Raju.

14-May-2020

According to report, the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) is plotting to revive terrorism in Punjab by sitting in Lahore on the behest of Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The report said that the slain Khalistani leader Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, had made Ranjit Singh Cheetah a hyperlink between terrorist organizations in Kashmir and sleeper cells in Punjab. Happy PhD was killed by unidentified assailants within the final week of January on the behest of the ISI after establishing a nexus between the militant organizations of Kashmir and the sleepers of Punjab, the report said. According to sources, the ISI killed Happy PhD due to the battle between the sleeper cells of Punjab and the connection established between terrorist organizations of Kashmir. The drug cash from smuggling heroin from Pakistan used to achieve the terrorist organizations of Kashmir by means of Ranjit Singh Cheetah. The Hizbul Mujahideen militants had been in touch with the cheetah. From time to time, Cheetah used to make use of sleeper cells to ship drug cash to Hizbul terrorists.

17-Mar-2020

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) failed to produce in court the death verification report of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) ‘chief’ Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, who was allegedly killed in Pakistan in January. The NIA special court, which was hearing the 2016-17 targeted killings case, fixed March 24 as the next date of hearing. Harmeet Singh was one of the main conspirators in the targeted killings case which took place in Punjab between 2016 and 2017.

10-Feb-2020

A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mohali sent three arrested accused in the drug smuggling case involving the slain Pakistan-based Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) member Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, to the NIA custody. According to NIA officials, the court sent three accused, Nirmal Singh, Satpal Singh and Hiralal for seven days to the agency’s custody. The case pertains to the arrest of three accused persons with 500 grams of heroin and Rs 1.2 lakh in drug money for which a case was registered in Amritsar. The NIA official said that during investigation, role of Harmeet Singh, whois believed to have been killed in Pakistan, has emerged in running a cross-border narco-terror network through drug smugglers, militant elements and hawala operatives based in Punjab and other states in India.

06-Feb-2020

Pakistan media and government have kept their silence over the killing of KLF chief Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD. Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Satwant Singh denied any knowledge about Harmeet’s killing or any Sikh outside Gurudwara Bebe Nanaki. “These are canards and there is not an iota of truth in them,” he said.

06-Feb-2020

The Indian intelligence sources said that Harmeet Singh was ‘eliminated’ by Pakistan’s ISI for having failed to ‘prove his worth’ while being provided ‘protection’ along with other Sikh fugitives in Pakistan. Sources said that many Sikh fugitives in Pakistan were involved in drug trade and were using their connections and negligible support in Punjab for it. “If they fail to do the task given to them by ISI, they meet the same fate as that of Harmeet,” sources added.

06-Feb-2020

In a poster circulated on social media, slain KLF chief Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD’s father Avtar Singh said he came to know about his son’s death through media reports and had appealed to Sikh organisations and individuals to converge in large number for his son’s ‘Antim Ardas’ (Final Prayers).

05-Feb-2020

According to counter-terrorism expert, Ajai Sahni, who serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi, labelling slain Khalistani terrorist Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD as a martyr is an exercise conducted at the behest of Khalistani secessionists in the Sikh diaspora. Ajai Sahni said that a handful of people working at the instructions of ageing Khalistanis, who had left India in the 1990s, were trying to give a Khalistani colour to every incident of this nature."There is a very small minority of individuals of this nature. Their efforts are to revive the Khalistani movement in the country. Overwhelmingly, they are led by people abroad. They manage to mobilize a handful of people here," he added.

05-Feb-2020

The ‘Bhog’ ceremony of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) leader Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, who was killed in Pakistan a week ago, was held at Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj in Railway Colony in Amritsar. Hardline Sikh leaders like, former Akal Takht jathedar Jasbir Singh Rode, Damdami Taksal’s spokesperson Sarchand Singh, Jarnail Singh Sakhira, Dal Khalsa leader Kanwarpal Singh, Principal Baljinder Singh, former militant Daljit Singh Bittu and Narayan Singh Chaura attended the event. The leaders glorified the slain militant leader by calling him ‘warrior’ of ‘contemporary Sikh struggle’. They also sought probe into his murder by an independent agency in Pakistan.

05-Feb-2020

During the ‘Bhog’ ceremony conducted by the prominent Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal in the memory of slain Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) leader Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, the Damdami Taksal spokesperson Sarchand Singh said that Harmeet Singh achieved ‘martyrdom’ in his struggle, initiated by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, in Pakistan.

02-Feb-2020

According to some sources, the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) leader, Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD was murdered over an alleged illicit affair with a married Muslim woman from Pakistan. The sources said, Harmeet Singh was having an affair with a Pakistani woman from some time and did not pay heed to warnings from the family members of his paramour after their relation became an 'open secret'. "Earlier it was believed that Happy was killed in a gang war over drug money. He might have been killed over an illicit affair. The woman was a close relative of a Pakistani drug lord. He used to visit the family regularly and later developed intimate relations with the woman. Woman's family knew about their affair and had asked him to maintain a distance from the woman", sources added.

02-Feb-2020

The Indian intelligence agencies suspect that the killing of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) leader, Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD is the fallout of a rivalry between three groups over control on drug money. An official said that, “There is an ongoing rivalry between Pakistan-based Khalistani groups led by Harmeet Singh, Khalistan Zindabad Force’s Ranjit Singh Neeta, and Paramjit Singh Panjwar of the Khalistan Commando Force. Initial reports suggest that drug money has been a major factor.”Harmeet Singh was wanted by various Indian agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Punjab Police, in 17 cases.The official also added that the recent spurt in trafficking of Afghan-origin heroin through traditional sea routes via Pakistan had led to generation of huge money for the syndicates that were also being used to push weapons into India for terror activities.

01-Feb-2020

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested an arms supplier of the militant outfit Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), identified as Ashish Kumar from Roorkee in Haridwar District of Uttarakhand. According to Police, Ashish Kumar, who hails from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, was wanted in a case of attempt to murder lodged at Mohali district of Punjab in 2018. He had allegedly supplied weapons to KLF members involved in the killing and attack on some Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members in Punjab. The Additional Director General, ATS, D K Thakur said that Ashish used to supply weapons to one Gugni Grewal, who is considered a close aide of slain KLF leader Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD. Kumar also confessed that he had sold eight pistols to Gugani over the past three years.

31-Jan-2020

According to sources, Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) has turned several chiefs of Khalistani terror outfits based in Pakistan into drug smugglers who are destroying a generation of youth of Punjab and other parts of India. Smuggling of weapons and drugs by Pakistan-based Khalistani terror chiefs has resulted in a rivalry among the militant Sikh Groups who are competing for the ISI's patronage and each one of them is trying to outperform the other in smuggling drugs like heroin in India, report said. It was the result of rivalry among the Khalistani militant groups based in Pakistan that on January 27, the ‘chief’ of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD, was killed at the Dera Chahal Gurudwara near Lahore by a local gang over financial disputes stemming from drug smuggling.

29-Jan-2020

The killed Khalistani terrorist, Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD was among the list of 15 pro-Khalistan activists active in Pakistan in the garb of making preparations for celebrating the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in November 2019. According to Indian intelligence agencies, India, during the second round of Kartarpur Corridor talks between India and Pakistan in Wagah in July 2019, submitted a 23-page dossier of 15 pro-Khalistani activists residing in Pakistan, containing events from the past four years to Pakistan. The dossier also included the year-wise pictorial details of key Khalistani elements in Pakistan and their anti-India activities on social media.

29-Jan-2020

According to reports, though the parents of killed Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) ‘chief’ Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD in Amritsar want Pakistan to return his body for cremation, Pakistan won’t agree with this as the Khalistani terrorist was living under fake identity at Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. According to the documents. His parents, father Avtar Singh and mother Khushbir Kaur, live in Chheharta area in Amritsar, Punjab. However, 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. His religious identity card, which shows his date of birth as December 12, 1983, was valid till May 31, 2024.

29-Jan-2020

According to local sources, the slain Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) ‘chief’ Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD was cremated at Babu Sabu Chowk cremation ground in Lahore in the presence of fellow Khalistani extremist Lakhbir Singh Rode, the ‘chief’ of International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) on January 29. A superintendent-rank police officer and the Station House Officer of the Dera Chahal station were also present at the cremation ground where Happy PhD was discreetly cremated, sources said.

28-Jan-2020

The news of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) ‘chief’ Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD’s killing in Lahore in Pakistan on January 27 brought relief to Indian security agencies, especially the Punjab Police, which had got nine red corner notices issued against the terrorist leader. Happy PhD, who was a PhD student in religious studies at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar in 2008 and later became the ‘chief’ of terror outfit KLF, remained a headache for the Indian security agencies for more than 11 years. He was one of the most active Khalistani terrorist in Pakistan and was allegedly involved in almost every terror attack, radicalisation of youths and drug smuggling in Punjab since 2008. His name first appeared in terror-related activities on November 5, 2008, when the Makhu police of the Ferozepur police district named him in an FIR for having received a cache of weapons and ammunition from Pakistan to kill Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. However, Police couldn’t arrest him in that case. Later, he reportedly moved to Pakistan where he rose through the militant ranks fast and became the KLF ‘chief’ in a few years. According to police, Happy PhD was considered the main link between Khalistani and Kashmiri militants. He also ran a network of funding terror activities and smuggling through Dubai-based smuggler Jasmeet Singh Hakeemzada.

28-Jan-2020

The Pakistani media did not report a word on the killing of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) ‘chief’ Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD apparently because of the sensitivity attached to the matter, sources said. He was reportedly killed near Dera Chahal Gurudwara on the outskirts of Lahore in Pakistan on January 27. According to local sources, the body of slain militant was not shifted to any of the Lahore’s morgue for autopsy and there was no FIR registered over his murder. Sources said, "We have been asked not to pursue this case. Therefore, no FIR has been registered in the murder of Harmeet Singh."The law enforcement agencies have cordoned off the area near the Gurudwara in Burki since January 27 and no one including journalists were allowed to visit there. It was also reported that he was shot dead by a local gang over financial disputes related to drug smuggling.

27-Jan-2020

According to sources, the ‘chief’ of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), Harmeet Singh alias Happy PhD was reportedly killed by a local gang over financial disputes stemming from drug smuggling at the Dera Chahal Gurudwara near Lahore in Pakistan. Harmeet Singh was wanted in India in several cases, and involved in the smuggling of weapons and drugs from Pakistan. He was also allegedly involved in the targeted killing of Hindu leaders in Punjab in 2016-2017. The Interpol, acting on India’s request, in October 2018, issued red corner notice against Harmeet Singh along with seven other Khalistani terrorists based in different countries. He was a resident of Chheharta in Amritsar, Punjab in India and he was living in Pakistan for the last two decades.

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11-Jul-2019

Punjab Chief Minister Chief Minister Amarinder Singh described the ban on the pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) as the first step towards protecting the nation from the anti-India and secessionist plans and designs of the Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)-backed organisation. He said the association should be declared a terror organisation. Punjab Police and National Investigation Agency (NIA) have busted several modules of SFJ found indulging in various subversive activities in Punjab. Investigations revealed that the activists were radicalized and funded by abroad based SFJ handlers - Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Harmeet Singh, Paramjit Singh Pamma, etc. Ten cases have been lodged with Punjab Police while one case is with NIA in which 39 accused have been arrested.

22-Feb-2019

National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a charge-sheet against eight people allegedly owing allegiance to the banned Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF), in a case of attempt to murder Shiv Sena leader Amit Arora on February 3, 2016 in Ludhiana. Those charge sheeted include Hardeep Singh alias Shera, Ramandeep Singh alias Canadian, Dharminder Singh alias Guguni, Anil Kumar alias Kala, Jagtar Singh Johal alias Jaggi, Harmeet Singh alias Happy (suspected to be in Pakistan), Gurjinder Singh alias Shastri (suspected to be in Italy) and Gursharanbir Singh alias Pehalwan (suspected to be in UK)