Chaudhary Lal Singh, a former MP and chairman of the Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan (DSS), was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Jammu on November 7th, evening, in connection with a case involving irregularities in land acquisition by an NGO that his wife was running.
The party workers said that Mr. Singh was interrogated by the ED on both Saturday and Monday, and that his application for anticipatory release had been denied by an anti-corruption court only hours before his detention.
Mr. Lal Singh was being questioned in connection with an allegation that he had given the R.B. Educational Trust, which is headed by his wife, “undue pecuniary advantage” in contravention of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976’s maximum limit of 100 standard kanals.
In 2020, the chairperson of the Kathua-based educational trust and others were accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of “facilitating to possess land much beyond the ceiling limit and after submission of false affidavits in support of the trust, which resulted in loss to the state exchequer.” The CBI filed a case to look into these claims.
The court in the case had already granted provisional anticipatory bail till November 30 to Mr. Singh’s wife, Kanta Andotra, and daughter, Kranti Singh. After the Centre chose to repeal the special provisions of Article 370 and divide Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories in 2019, Mr. Singh departed the BJP. Mr. Singh has initiated a significant public outreach campaign to garner support for his objectives, which include Jammu’s separation from India and special status under Article 371.
Mr. Singh is one of the few voices in Jammu criticizing the BJP’s plans for J&K beyond 2019, particularly in Jammu. He was also spotted last year during Congressman Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. In 2014, Mr. Singh joined the BJP after quitting the Congress. Additionally, Mr. Singh had a ministerial position in J&K under the PDP-BJP coalition.
