Youth Akali Dal leader arrested for Mansa trader abduction

Already facing severe credibility crisis, Mansa police claims to have solved the case of a trader’s abduction by arresting Kalyan Singh, son of SGPC member Sukhchain Singh Dharampura, after raiding his residence on Thursday morning. The accused Kalyan Singh is the general secretary of Youth Akali Dal, Malwa zone-1.
Chiman Lal,55, was abducted in August from the Budhlada-Bareta road while returning home. The trader stayed in captivity for more than 15 days and was released after a ransom of Rs 1 crore was allegedly paid by the family. The case took a new turn, when a DSP rank officer was transferred for allegedly assisting the family in paying the ransom.
The district police raided the residence of Sukhchain and arrested his son Kalyan and one of his accomplices from Dharampura village. The early morning raid took Sukhchain by surprise and he also contacted the chief minister, but to no avail, claimed a source within the department.
Sukhchain Singh, also general secretary of Sant Samaj, is close to the Badal family and often shares stage with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders during the ‘sangat darshan’ programmes in Mansa.
His son was earlier booked for a bank robbery in 2002, but was later acquitted. “Kalyan Singh is on the bad character list compiled by the district police. He has been booked under cases of arms act and robbery in the past, while Sukhchain Singh was very active during the days of militancy,” said a superintendent of police (SP) who did not want to be named.
Cops said the details provided by the trader after his release hinted towards the involvement of Kalyan Singh who was anyway under the scanner. After an hour-long raid, police has taken around four motorcycles and cash amount to the tune of Rs 30 lakh.
The cops also took away the cellphone of Sukhchain and despite repeated attempts, he could not be reached for his comments.