The Delhi Police on Friday, 6 May, filed a First Information Report (FIR) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections pertaining to "kidnapping" “outraging religious feelings,” and “wrongful confinement,” among others, after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga was arrested by the Punjab police on Friday morning.
The FIR has been registered at Delhi’s Janakpuri police station, after a complaint was received from Bagga’s father Pritpal Singh Bagga, 64, that his son “had been abducted from his house (in Janakpuri) by unknown persons around 8.30 am.”
Notably, in the message shared by DCP (West), there is no mention of Punjab police.
Bagga's arrest took place over allegedly issuing death threats to Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the latter's views on the controversial Bollywood film The Kashmir Files.
DCP (West) Ghanshyam Bansal said that a case under Sections 365 (kidnapping), 342 (wrongful confinement), 392 (robbery), 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt), and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the IPC has been filed.
'Punched on the Right Side of My Face': Bagga’s Father
Bagga’s father told The Quint:
"Three police personnel from the Punjab police came home. Within minutes, 15 people barged in. Outside our house, there were more police personnel, and many cars parked. When they were taking Tajinder away, he said ‘I will come with you, let me wear my turban’ but they didn’t let him do even that.”
Meanwhile, Bagga’s father Pritpal Singh also alleged that he was "manhandled when I started making a video of what was going on. I was punched on the right side of my face and one of them hit me on my shoulder."
He claimed that no one from the Delhi police had accompanied the Punjab police personnel. “I went to the police station and informed them about everything that happened,” he added.
The Punjab police cavalcade that was taking him to Mohali following his arrest was intercepted by the Haryana police. He was later handed over to the Delhi police at the Thanesar police station in Haryana's Kurukshetra. Bagga later returned to Delhi on Friday evening.
DCP (West) said that after the complaint was received, “a wireless message was flashed and the said vehicle was intercepted by Haryana police at Kurukshetra.”
He said that a “search warrant was obtained from the concerned Dwarka court of Delhi based on which assistance of Kurukshetra District police was taken to trace and recover the abducted victim. He is being brought to Delhi to be produced before the concerned honourable court as per law.”
‘Why Was This Done?’: BJYM District President
Meanwhile, Ankit Gupta, district president, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) told The Quint:
"Punjab police did not inform the Delhi police that they were coming to arrest Bagga. Why was this done?" He claimed that “three police personnel from Punjab police informed the local SHO after the arrest was done.”
Gupta claimed that around a month ago, “an Aam Aadmi Party source had tipped them off about plans of arrest regarding a tweet.” He claimed, “He moved to Noida in UP that day, and the next day, Punjab police showed up at their Janakpuri residence.”
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