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CBI court declares Namdhari leader Thakur Dalip Singh proclaimed offender
Thakur Dalip Singh has been evading summons in 2015 Jalandhar car bomb blast and 2016 Mata Chand Kaur murder cases
A special CBI court in Mohali has declared Thakur Dalip Singh, a key accused in multiple serious criminal cases, including the 2015 Jalandhar car bomb blast and 2016 murder of Namdhari sect matriarch Chand Kaur, a proclaimed offender.
Special CBI judge Baljinder Singh Sra took a strong note of his continued absence despite several opportunities to appear in court, the last being April 8, and directed that his name be entered in the proclaimed offenders’ register.
Thakur Dalip Singh has been facing investigation in a cluster of FIRs linked to the bitter power struggle within the Namdhari community.
These cases, initially registered across different police stations, were brought together and transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2017, following which a fresh case was registered in Chandigarh and probe initiated.
Power struggle within sect linked to murder, blast
Following the passing of Namdhari sect head Satguru Jagjit Singh, 92, in 2012, a rift erupted over his successor. His wife Mata Chand Kaur’s influential endorsement of Dalip Singh’s brother Satguru Uday Singh solidified his takeover within 10 days, but fuelled intense rivalry.
Amid the sustained tussle over the sect’s power and financial control, Kaur was shot dead on April 4, 2016, by two unidentified, turbaned motorcycle-borne assailants at Bhaini Sahib, the Namdhari sect’s headquarters in Ludhiana.
The CBI identified Dalip Singh as a central figure in the murder conspiracy, alleging that the attack was a strategic move to eliminate a key pillar of his opponent’s religious authority.
CBI also identified Dalip Singh as the mastermind of the car bomb blast in Jalandhar’s Maqsudan area on December 4, 2015. The probe agency termed it a failed assassination attempt against Namdhari sect head Satguru Uday Singh. The plot collapsed when an IED accidentally detonated in a car, killing one of the conspirators.
CBI made the first arrest in the case in September 2019 – Palvinder Singh, alias Dimpa, who was a close associate and former driver of Dalip Singh. Non-bailable warrants were issued in June 2021, and the chargesheet was filed the following year in December.
Despite the investigation progressing, Dalip Singh did not join court proceedings, prompting the court to initiate PO proceedings.
Prosecution witness claims security threat
During the Thursday hearing, a prosecution witness approached the court citing security concerns due to proximity to the accused. The court directed that the Jalandhar commissioner of police examine the matter to assess the threat and ensure protection as per law.
The court also recorded that a pending reply regarding an application seeking permission to extract mobile data through a forensic chip-off method had not been filed despite the last opportunity. The matter has been listed for further proceedings on April 18, with directions to the CBI to ensure compliance.
