Indian police kill three Sikh separatist militants

LUCKNOW, India: Indian police said on Monday they had killed three Sikh militants fighting for a separate homeland known as “Khalistan”, the struggle for which sparked deadly violence in the 1980s and 1990s.

In the latest incident, the Khalistani rebels were killed after a gun battle in Pilibhit district in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.The men were wanted for their alleged involvement in a grenade attack on a police outpost in Punjab state this month.Pilibhit police superintendent Avinash Pandey said officers had surrounded the men after a tip-off, with the suspects launching “heavy fire”.“In the retaliatory action, all three were critically injured and later died in hospital,” he said.