Fresh case filed against Daduwal under Arms Act

The Mansa police on Friday filed a fresh case under the Arms Act against radical Sikh leader Baljit Singh Daduwal. The local court remanded him in police custody for a day in this case.

The police claimed that they recovered a vehicle with cartridges and a fake registration certificate (RC) on August 27 near Khyala Kalan in Mansa.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Bhupinder Singh Khattra said, “We recovered a Mahindra Rexton vehicle in Mansa which had AK-47 cartridges, two number plates and a fake RC. The vehicle belonged to one Sukhwinder Singh of Patiala. However, we found that it was used by Daduwal. Sukhwinder’s father has said that the loan instalments for the vehicle were being paid by Daduwal. So, we have filed a case under Section 25 (1) of the Arms Act.”The SSP said Sukhwinder, the vehicle owner as per the documents, had moved to Spain in April 2013.Earlier, the situation in the town remained tense for the second consecutive day as Daduwal’s supporters gathered at various places in the morning, protesting against his arrest.

Cops arrested around 50 of his supporters at Bhikhi but released them later in the evening. “Daduwal is being targeted by the Punjab government as he supports the creation of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC). Every day, cops are levelling new charges against Daduwal. We strongly condemn this conspiracy hatched by the police,” said one of the supporters.

Responding to the allegations of victimising Daduwal by reopening old cases, the SSP said: “We are not indulging in vendetta against Daduwal. We are following all the legal protocols while filing every case. On being instructed, we will produce the supporting documents before the court.”

Daduwal, a member of the HSGMC (ad hoc), was arrested last week by the Faridkot police following the recovery of ‘illegal’ weapons. He was remanded in judicial custody till September 6.

Later, the Mansa police reopened a 3-year-old attempt to murder case, in which he was also remanded in judicial custody.