Khalistani terrorist Gajinder Singh, who hijacked an Indian Airlines plane to Lahore in 1981, reportedly died in Pakistan.

While the circumstances leading to his death are not clear, it is believed that he suffered a massive cardiac arrest, TOI has reported.

Singh, co-founder of Dal Khalsa, was placed on the list of 20 most-wanted terrorists in 2002. He was among the five terrorists who had hijacked an Indian Airlines plane carrying 111 passengers and six crew members on September 29, 1981. They forced the plane to land in Lahore to seek the release of several Khalistani terrorists, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

The co-conspirators were Tejinder Pal Singh, Satnam Singh Paonta Sahib, Dalbir Singh and Karan Singh. They were arrested by Pakistan agencies on September 30, 1981, tried and were all awarded 14-year imprisonment by a special court in Lahore. They completed their sentence on October 31, 1994.

Notably, in 2020, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, decided to honor Gajinder Singh Khalsa with the title of ‘Sikh Warrior in Exile.’