India police kill 3 Sikh separatist militants

Indian police said yesterday 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.

The campaign for Khalistan was at the heart of a diplomatic firestorm last year after Indian intelligence operatives were linked to the killing of a vocal Sikh leader in Canada and an attempted assassination in the United States -- claims New Delhi rejected.

In the latest incident, Khalistani rebels were killed after a gun battle in Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh. The men were wanted for their alleged involvement in a grenade attack on a police outpost in Punjab 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.