One arrested in Akali leader Dalbir Singh Dhilwan murder case

The Punjab Police on Tuesday arrested an accused in the Akali leader Dalbir Singh Dhilwan murder case from Purna railway station in Parbhani district of Maharashtra, officials said.

Amritpal Singh of Dalam Village in Punjab's Batala tehsil was arrested at the railway station when he was travelling to Nanded Sahib in Maharashtra, Jasbir Singh Rai, Superintendent of Police (headquarters) who is monitoring the special investigation team (SIT) constituted in the murder case.

On November 18, former Akali sarpanch (village head) Dalbir Singh Dhilwan (51) was allegedly shot dead by his neighbour Balwinder Singh and his two sons Major Singh and Mandeep Singh at his native village Dhilwan in Dera Baba Nanak.

The accused had pumped six bullets into Dalbir who was walking on the village outskirts along with his son Sandeep Singh.

Later, his legs were chopped off with a sharp-edged weapon.

Dalbir was a two-time village head and also vice president of Batala unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

Rai said the other accused in the case have been identified as Jagtar Singh, Harjinder Singh and Jasmeet Singh - besides Balwinder Singh and his two sons - and they would be arrested soon.

Batala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Opinderjit Singh said all the accused in the Dalbir murder case had criminal records in the past and were already booked under different criminal sections in Dera Baba Nanak and Qila Lal Singh police stations.

He said that a special police team had gone outside Punjab to nab the accused besides four teams that are working in Punjab.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal has written to the National Human Right Commission (NHRC), alleging that Punjab minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was behind the murder.

Former minister Bikram Singh Majithia has linked the murder with gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpura, allegedly that the latter acted at the behest of Randhawa.

Randhawa has denied the charges.

A case of murder (section 302 of IPC) and the Arms Act (25, 54, and 59) was registered against the seven accused, Dalbir's three neighbours and four others, in this regard.