Sikh Man Arrested For Letter Threatening Blasts In Indore During Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra: Police

An official reported that Dayal Singh, also known as Daya Singh, was taken into custody on Thursday from a tea shop in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain district.

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A 69-year-old Sikh man was arrested after reportedly writing a letter threatening explosions in Indore if Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra stopped at Khalsa stadium, according to the police, news agency PTI reported.

An official reported that Dayal Singh, also known as Daya Singh, was taken into custody on Thursday from a tea shop in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain district.

In his letter, he purportedly threatened Rahul Gandhi and state Congress head Kamal Nath, claiming that no political party had ever raised the topic of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

According to documents retrieved from him, he was a resident of Ghosiyana area in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, said Juni Indore police station in-charge Yogesh Singh Tomar.

According to Additional Police Commissioner (Zone-4) Prashant Choubey, Singh has neither been determined to have any ties to Khalistani organisations, nor has he lost any relatives in the 1984 riots.

But Singh, who lives as a nomad, is still angry over the riots that erupted after the killing of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.

"Singh is a commerce graduate....His wife died a long time ago. He has no children. To deal with loneliness, he started travelling. Being a Sikh, it is very easy for him to stay and have meals at gurdwaras in any part of the country," Choubey was quoted by PTI in its report. 

He had previously reportedly threatened Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and certain Madhya Pradesh politicians.

According to Inspector Tomar of the Juni Indore police station, Singh was detained after CCTV video from multiple sites was reviewed.

On November 17, a tea vendor in the Juni neighbourhood got a threat letter reportedly issued by Singh.

The Khalsa stadium referenced in the letter was recently in the headlines when kirtan singer Manpreet Singh Kanpuri referred to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots during an event on November 8, and chastised the organisers for honouring Nath, who has been accused of involvement in the carnage.

Nath has consistently denied any role in the anti-Sikh violence.

Following the threat letter, the location of the Bharat Jodo Yatra's nighttime stop on November 28 was modified, and it will now camp in Chimanbagh Maidan in the city.

(With PTI Inputs)