Delhi poll candidate shot dead
EC adjourns polling; new date soon
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 11 — In the first case of election-related violence in the Capital, the Samata Party candidate from Nangloi Jat Assembly constituency in Outer Delhi was shot dead by car-borne assailants last night.

Following the death of the candidate the Election Commission today issued a directive for adjournment of the election in the constituency due on November 25.

The incident took place at about 11 pm when Ved Singh alias Laloo Pehlwan and his associates, Mr Ishwar Singh and Mr Surender Singh, were returning home after attending a meeting of party workers.

Three persons who came in a Zen accosted Ved Singh and his associates as they stepped out of their Maruti car at Saini Chaupal in Mundka village, the police said.

Before Ved Singh or his friends could react, the assailants armed with semi-automatic weapons and a revolver opened fire at them. Ved Singh received 20 bullet injuries on his head and shoulders. He died on the spot.

Ishwar Singh and Surender Singh also sustained serious bullet wounds on the head and upper part of their body. The victims were taken to Jaipur Golden Hospital where Ved Singh was declared brought dead. Ishwar Singh was shifted to DDU hospital where his condition was stated to be critical and Surender Singh was battling for his life in DDU hospital.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Delhi), Mr Rajesh Malik, said the case would be investigated from all angles — election, political, old enmity and property. "We have launched a hunt for the assailants," he said.

Samata Party president and Defence Minister George Fernandes and other senior leaders of the party rushed to the spot.

An Election Commission spokesman said polling in the constituency would be adjourned and a fresh date would be notified soon.

Samata Party being a recognised national party could nominate a fresh candidate for the seat while the other candidates would remain in the fray.

Under the recent changes in the Representation of People Act, the death of a candidate belonging to a recognised party need not necessarily countermand the election process.

The Delhi Transport Minister, Mr Devender Singh Shoukeen, is the BJP candidate and Mr P C Kaushik is the Congress candidate for the Nangloi Jat Assembly constituency.

Samata Party general secretary, Jaya Jaitly alleged that Sahib Singh and his men were pressurising the Samata Party candidate, Mr Ved Singh, to opt out of the electoral fray. "Ved Singh, however, refused to withdraw his nomination papers," she said.

She said Mr Sahib Singh and his brothers, Mr Attar Singh and Master Azad, went to the house of the deceased to persuade him to withdraw. She demanded that the culprits should be arrested and a CBI enquiry into the incident conducted.

Ms Jaya Jaitly said earlier there were eight Samata Party candidates contesting the Delhi Assembly poll but "now only seven are left in the fray".

In a veiled warning to the Centre she said "if our demands are not accepted, we may even consider the option of withdrawing support to the BJP-led coalition government,"

Mr Ved Singh’s father, Chaudhary Bhim Singh, told the police that the BJP candidate, Mr Devender Singh, and Sahib Singh’s brothers were "pressurising my son not to contest the poll."

Former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, on his part, today demanded a CBI probe into the killing of Ved Singh as it may have larger political ramifications.

Denying the involvement of his family in the incident and describing it as a heinous crime, Mr Verma said no time should be lost in bringing the culprits to book.

On being told that the victim’s family members suspected the involvement of his family in the incident, Mr Verma said it may have been a case of "emotional outbursts" adding that "Ved Singh was my son. I had recommended his name for the elections".

Stating that other political parties were trying to gain mileage from the incident by adding political colour to it, Mr Verma said it was because of this reason he had suggested transferring the case to the CBI so that a fair and independent enquiry could be carried out.

The Delhi Police Commissioner was confident of a breakthrough in the case within 24 hours, Mr Verma said.

Incidentally, the Samajwadi party candidate, Mr Ved Singh, was a BJP activist and left the party only after he was denied a ticket for the forthcoming Assembly poll.

Tension was apparent in Mundka village after the killing of Mr Ved Singh. A posse of policemen has been stationed at the village to prevent any untoward incident. Mr Sahib Singh, who went to Mr Ved Singh’s house to express his sympathy, was heckled by the relatives of the deceased and the area residents who alleged that Mr Sahib Singh’s family members were involved in the killing.

Mr Ved Singh’s killing assumes significance as he was an eyewitness to a murder case in which Mr Verma’s two nephews, Neeraj and Pawan, were allegedly involved.Mr Verma said "even if the culprit is my father or son, he should be brought to book".

Mr Verma, who had met the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, the Defence Minister, the Lt Governor of Delhi and the Delhi Police Commissioner today in this regard, said in his opinion the murder appeared to be a fallout of "personal enmity".

A visibly upset Mr Verma declared that he would not take food until the culprits were nabbed.

The Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mr Madan Lal Khurana said "this was bound to be the outcome in view of the encouragement given to certain elements in the last few years."

Mr Khurana, while condemning the incident, observed that such an incident was unprecedented in the history of Delhi. He also demanded a thorough probe into the killing of Mr Ved Singh.

"One had heard of reports from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh of such killings. My head hangs in shame after this incident in the National Capital," Mr Khurana said.

The Congress today deplored the killing of the Samata Party candidate, Mr Sajjan Kumar termed the murder of Ved Singh as a "political murder". The former MP, who had represented the Outer Delhi constituency twice in which this Assembly segment falls, demanded a "CBI inquiry" into the incident and the "immediate arrest of the culprits."

Recalling the role of the Indian National Lok Dal President, Mr Om Prakash Chautala in Meham, Mr Sajjan Kumar expressed fears that more poll related violence could occur in the Outer Delhi, where there are 21 Assembly segments, as the Indian National Lok Dal and the BJP are jointly fighting the polls in this parliamentary constituency.

"A letter has been written to the Election Commission to declare the entire Outer Delhi area as sensitive area and more police force be deployed for the conduct of free and fair polls on November 25," he added.