Gangster links, fake identity trail: An Akali Dal candidate’s daughter at the centre of Punjab row

Almost immediately after her release, SAD leader Virsa Singh Valtoha named Kanchanpreet as a candidate for the coming Zila Parishad polls from the Kasel zone. For the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, the court order is being seen as a major embarrassment, coming close on the heels of its bypoll victory. The run-up to the election was marred by allegations of “police interference”, leading to the suspension of three top officers, including the SSP of Tarn Taran.

While several FIRs were lodged against SAD workers, Kanchanpreet herself was named in at least four and accused of intimidation and electoral malpractice. During the campaign, she emerged as a surprising central figure, often overshadowing her mother with her aggressive canvassing.

However, investigations revealed a complex backstory involving her father Jaswant Singh and Bath. During the bypoll campaign, the SAD portrayed Singh as a “Dharmi Fauji” — soldiers who quit their jobs after the Army initiated Operation Blue Star in 1984 — in a bid to reach out to Sikh votes for its candidates. However, Singh never publicly campaigned for his wife, though his appeals appeared on every election poster.

During the campaign, Kanchanpreet was accussed of concealing her marriage to Bath, who was once seen to influence local politics and managed to help around 40 candidates get elected as village panchayats in Tarn Taran district. Kanchanpreet, who was the SAD’s back-up candidate, denied her alleged relationship with the gangster. Bath’s family had never come on record to acknowledge Kaur as their daughter-in-law until Saturday, when they appeared outside court to extend solidarity with her. According to police sources, Kanchanpreet is accused of criminal conspiracy along with Bath, who faces 23 serious charges, including under the UAPA.

While Bath is accused of issuing video threats to rivals and voters, Kanchanpreet is accused of actively facilitating his escape from the country. According to the police, she used a fake identity, “Harpreet Singh”, to secure passports and residency documents for the gangster and also used it on her son’s UAE passport and birth records.

The Haryana School Education Board has confirmed that the certificate used to support “Harpreet Singh’s” passport application was fake. Similarly, the Gurugram address on the passport was found to be fake, as was the “Schedule-D” marriage certificate allegedly submitted in support of Bath’s passport application.

Kanchanpreet, who resided abroad, primarily in Dubai, between 2020 and 2025, is also accused of illegally entering the country on March 22 this year through the Nepalganj border. It is alleged that she circumvented immigration using transport arranged by Bath and a Dubai-based agent.

Her lawyer Arshdeep Kaler has denied allegations regarding Bath’s fake identity. “Bath’s name on all documents reads Harpreet Singh alias Amritpal. While the police claim that they are two different people, Amritpal and Harpreet are the same. The Gurugram address was also used as a proof when Kaur and Bath got married at Jhabal Gurdwara on August 25, 2019,” he said.