Ved Singh case:Balraj gang hideouts raided
From Our Correspondent

NEW DELHI, Nov 14 — The Delhi police today conducted extensive raids at the hideouts of the Balraj gang in Haryana and Delhi to nab other suspects involved in the killing of Samata Party candidate from the Nangloi Jat assembly constituency Ved Singh.

The main suspect in the case is Anup, reportedly the younger brother of ganster Balraj. The police conducted raids at 18 places in Haryana and Delhi to arrest Anup and his accomplices.

Ved Singh was murdered near Saini Chaupal in Mundka village in Nangloi on Tuesday while he was returning home after campainging. The former Delhi Chief Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, today broke fast in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Sushma Swaraj and Outer Delhi MP K.L. Sharma.

He had undertaken the fast till the culprits were arrested by the police.

Political rivalry could be one of the reasons for Ved Singh's murder," the Joint Commissioner of Police, Mr Amod Kanth, said.

According to sources in the Delhi police, several persons have been detained for interrogation to determine the whereabouts of Anup and his accomplices. The police teams were sent to Gurgaon, Rohtak and Sonepat in search of the suspects. Five suspects were arrested yesterday.

The sources said only after the arrest of Anup, Naresh, alias Kalu, and Sonu, the motive behind the murder could be ascertained. It is alleged that the suspects were hired to kill the Samata Party candidate.

Ved Singh was close to former Chief Minister of Delhi Sahib Singh. In the last assembly elections he was in charge of his constituency. He was one of the aspirants for BJP ticket in the ensuing Delhi poll. When he could not manage to get one, he filed his nominations as a candidate of the Samata Party from the Nangloi Jat constituency. The BJP candidate from the constituency is Mr Devinder Singh Shaukeen.

The father of Ved Singh has alleged that Sahib Singh's brothers Masters Azad Singh and Attar Singh, tried to persuade his son to withdraw from the poll in favour of the BJP candidate. Sahib Singh had a panchayat in Mandka village in this connection. However, Ved Singh refused to oblige.

The Samata Party general secretary, Ms Jaya Jaitly, has said that Ved Singh received threats from different quarters to withdraw from the contest.