Wanted terrorist Rinda dies of drug overdose in Pak hospital

Chandigarh, November 19

One of India’s most-wanted terrorists Harwinder Singh Sandhu, alias Rinda, died due to alleged drug overdose at a military hospital in Lahore on Saturday. Both state and central security agencies have confirmed the development. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had announced Rs 10 lakh reward for information leading to Rinda’s arrest. A listed gangster, drug smuggler and arms supplier, Rinda had been operating from Pakistan for the past few years. He was the alleged mastermind of the RPG attack on the Punjab Police Intelligence headquarters in Mohali in May this year. Rinda, originally from Nanded, Maharashtra, had taken over the reins of a terrorist outfit in Pakistan after the killing of Harpreet Singh, alias Happy PhD.

Sources claim Rinda, aged 35, had developed differences with the Wadhawa Singh group in Pakistan. He was reportedly hospitalised in Lahore on November 14 and later shifted to the military hospital after his condition deteriorated.

Rinda was wanted in at least 30 known criminal cases. His crimes included 10 cases of murder, six of attempted murder, seven of dacoity, besides abduction, extortion, arms and drugs smuggling. The NIA had classified him as a major threat to the national security. It is suspected that he had acquired a fake passport and fled to Indonesia before finding shelter in Pakistan.