Youth Akali Dal leader arrested for Mansa trader abduction

The Mansa police claimed to have resolved the case of a trader’s abduction by arresting Kalyan Singh, a Youth Akali Dal (YAD) leader, and son of SGPC member Sukhchain Singh Dharampura, after raiding his residence on Thursday morning.

In August, one 55-year-old Chiman Lal was abducted from the Budhlada-Bareta road while he was returning home. After staying in captivity for around 15 days, Chiman Lal was released after a ransom of Rs 1 crore was allegedly paid by the family. Later, the case took a new turn, when a DSP rank officer was transferred for allegedly assisting the family in paying the ransom.

Despite all this, till Thursday morning, the district police seemed to be clueless about the accused. The district police raided the residence of SGPC member Sukhchain Singh and arrested his son Kalyan Singh and one of his accomplices from Dharampura village. The early morning raid took Sukhchain Singh by surprise and he also contacted the CM, but to no avail, claimed a source within the department.

Sukhchain Singh, SGPC member and general secretary of the Sant Samaj, is under constant watch of the district police because he is suspected to have provided hideouts to Sikh militants. His son Kalyan Singh is on the bad character list compiled by the district police. He has been booked under cases of the arms Act and robbery in the past.

Cops said that the details provided by the trader after his release hinted towards the involvement of Kalyan Singh, who was under the police scanner. After an hour-long raid, the police seized four motorcyles and ‘30 lakh in cash from the house.

The cops also took away the cellphone of Sukhchain Singh and, despite repeated attempts, he could not be reached for comments.

Plot of abduction, car purchase gave the clue

Senior superintendent of (SSP), Mansa, Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar, said that Kalyan Singh and his cousin Gurpreet Singh Chahal had planned the abduction as the trader Chiman Lal ran a rice mill in Dharampura village. The accused duo knew that the trader usually travelled alone in his car. The accused stole a car from Ratia town from neighbouring Haryana, which was used in the crime. The trader was abducted and kept in a basement of a school run by Kalyan’s father Sukhchain Singh in his native village Dharampura.

After the trader was released, he told the cops that he was kept at a location close to the railway crossing. “We zeroed in on three suspects, but our investigation pointed towards the involvement of Kalyan Singh due to his previous criminal record. Immediately after the trader’s release, Kalyan bought a car from New Delhi. We started assimilating more evidence against him,” said the SSP.

On Thursday morning, the police raided his residence and arrested Kalyan Singh and his cousin Gurpreet Singh. The cops recovered around Rs 22 lakh in cash which includes Foreign currency to the tune of 5.62 lakh. Kalyan Singh was acquitted in a bank robbery case which took place in 2002 in Bareta town after the bank officials turned hostile. Later, he also managed to claim the money which was recovered during that bank robbery. He also faces three other cases of robbery and under the arms Act

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