Mohali, April 17 -- A special CBI court in Mohali has declared Thakur Dalip Singh, a key accused in multiple serious criminal cases, including the 2015 Jalandhar car bomb blast and 2016 murder of Namdhari sect matriarch Chand Kaur, a proclaimed offender.

Special CBI judge Baljinder Singh Sra took a strong note of his continued absence despite several opportunities to appear in court, the last being April 8, and directed that his name be entered in the proclaimed offenders' register.

Thakur Dalip Singh has been facing investigation in a cluster of FIRs linked to the bitter power struggle within the Namdhari community.

These cases, initially registered across different police stations, were brought together and transferred to the C...