Five held for killing Samata candidate
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 13 — The Delhi police today arrested five persons allegedly involved in the murder of Ved Singh, Samata Party candidate from the Nangloi Jat constituency.

The five were identified as Sanjay, Amarjeet Singh, Virender alias Binder, Naresh, and Shabir alias Satbir. While four belong to Mundka, the native village of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, the fifth was a resident of Nangloi, from where the Samata Party candidate was contesting.

Mr Ved Singh was shot dead in Mundka village in the Nangloi Jat constituency on Tuesday while he was canvassing for support in the area.

Sources in the Delhi police said the arrested persons allegedly belonged to the Balraj gang and the murder of Ved Singh was due to some property dispute.

The murder of the Samata Party candidate is being investigated by the crime branch, the west district police and the special branch team.

Incidentally, the teams have difference of opinion about the motive behind the killing. While senior police officers were not inclined to comment on the issue, the sources indicated that divergent lines of investigation were being pursued by the three teams.

Sources in the crime branch indicated that the murder of Ved Singh was due to the gang war. However, sources in the west district police indicated that they were pursuing the case "as a political murder" as they had certain clues in this regard. Officers of the special branch declined to disclose their line of investigation.

Legal experts have pointed out the lacunae in the police investigation on the grounds the FIR had been lodged on the basis of the PCR information rather than on the statement of the eyewitnesses.

Moreover, the statement of Surender Singh, who was injured in the incident, has not been recorded by the police even two days after the incident.

Experts pointed out that in the Connaught Place shoot-out case, the FIR was lodged on the basis of the statement by the eyewitness.

Meanwhile, the former Delhi Chief Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma today claimed that the killing of the Samata Party candidate Ved Singh was the result of "inter-gang rivalry" and criticised the Samata Party for giving a "political colour" to the incident.

The Samata Party had unnecessarily dragged the BJP’s name in the shooting of Ved Singh, a rebel BJP member who was contesting for the Nangloi Jat Delhi Assembly seat on the Samata Party ticket, he said.

The former Chief Minister, who had declared that he would go off food till the police achieved a breakthrough in its investigations, today converted his fast into a relay fast along with his supporters, including the Delhi Transport Minister, Mr Devender Singh.

Declaring that he was "satisfied" with the police investigations, Mr Sahib Singh said he was hopeful that the culprits would be arrested by tomorrow.

However, he and his supporters would continue their relay fast to keep the pressure on the police to speedily investigate the matter, he added.

Mr Devender Singh, who is the BJP candidate from Nangloi Jat, said the episode would not have any bearing on his poll prospects. "When the truth comes out, our opponents will be disappointed," he added.

Sources in the Samata Party said that the party was yet to take a decision on nominating Ved Singh’s widow for the Nangloi Jat Assembly seat.