Farmers Movement Archive

Life convict among 3 held for bid to kill Nihang leader

New Delhi: Three assassins, including a convict serving life imprisonment at Tihar Jail out on parole, who were allegedly at the end stage of killing Balbir Singh, the chief of Budha Dal Nihang Samparday or 96 Crori, were arrested by Special Cell of Delhi Police. The three accused are Malkit Singh (27) from Azadpur in Delhi, Bhupender Singh (24) and Jabarjang Singh (35) from Punjab. Malkit was out on parole from Tihar Jail. Jabarjang, an associate of Punjab gangster Lakha Sidhana, was also arrested by Crime Branch on Wednesday in the Red Fort violence case. A senior Crime Branch officer told TOI, “Jabarjung was at the forefront during the January 26 violence. He was arrested by us as well as Special Cell in the murder conspiracy case.” DCP (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said the plan was to kill Balbir Singh to conquer the biggest Sikh Jathebandi in India. Police received a tip-off on March 6 about the life convict out on parole planning a murder. Surveillance revealed that he would come to Shalimar Bagh around 10pm. Subsequently, Malkit and Bhupender were arrested with arms and ammunition. They disclosed the involvement of Jabarjang, who was apprehended on March 10. Jabarjung disclosed that Malkit and he were present at Mukarba Chowk and Red Fort on January 26 and were at the front of the procession. He came in touch with Sidhana while they were lodged in Bathinda jail. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a Nihang Sikh and was out on bail. Malkit’s father was arrested in 2007 for the murder of four Nihang Sikhs. In 2010, he, his mother Jasbir Kaur and two sewadars kidnapped and murdered a granthi of a gurdwara. They were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2017, he came out on parole and was involved in the murder of four members of Budha Dal due to a property dispute of Muktsar Sahib Gurdwara. “The same year, Malkit was again arrested for planning to murder Pyara Singh, a sewadar of Budha Dal, for possession of Balwangarh Sahib Gurdwara, Fatehgarh Sahib,” Yadav said. Last August, Malkit got parole due to Covid-19 and took to crime again. In December, he and other Nihang Singhs of Budha Dal reached Singhu Border to support the Kisan Andolan. He then started plotting the murder of Balbir Singh by shooting him on Hola Mohalla festival celebrated before Holi when the target would be travelling in an open SUV. He planned to shoot Balbir Singh in the head as he wore a bulletproof jacket. He was also trying to murder a witness in a murder case lodged against him. “Malkit contacted Harwinder Singh Pinda, who is lodged in Nabha Jail, for procuring weapons. Pinda gave him the number of one Jyoti arms supplier from Burhanpur, MP,” said the DCP. On March 5, Bhupender and he reached Burhanpur and procured two pistols of .32 bore and 20 cartridges for Rs 40,000. They reached Delhi the next day to execute their plan, but got arrested.

The Times of India

2021-03-11

Delhi