A Mohali court has issued an arrest warrant against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga and instructed police to arrest him and produce him before court, news agency ANI reported on Saturday, 7 May.
This comes a day after Bagga was arrested on Friday morning from his Delhi residence by the Punjab Police on complaints of causing instigation, criminal intimidation to cause violence, imminent hurt by publishing false, and communal inflammatory statements on social media.
This came a month after he was booked for his statements against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the latter's views on the controversial Bollywood film The Kashmir Files. The Punjab Police had reportedly intimated the Janakpuri police station.
The Punjab Police said that Bagga had failed to appear before it despite having been served five notices and was taking Bagga to Mohali and would have produced him in court.
Police To Ensure 'Adequate Safety' for Bagga and His Father
Bagga is now back in Delhi, having returned on Friday evening. According to an Indian Express report, he was produced at a Metropolitan Magistrate’s Gurgaon Residence on Friday night and was allowed to head home around midnight.
Bagga's advocate has said that as per his medico-legal case (MLC) report, he had suffered injuries on his back and shoulder during the day. Taking cognisance of this, the court asked the SHO to ensure adequate security for Bagga and his father.
Punjab Police Cavalcade Stopped in Haryana
However, the Punjab Police cavalcade that was taking him to Mohali following his arrest was intercepted by the Haryana police. The cavalcade was reportedly stopped for not following due procedures while arresting Bagga.
He was then taken to the Thanesar Police Station in Kurukshetra. Meanwhile, Delhi Police officials left for Kurukshetra.
Bagga was then handed over to the Delhi police at the Thanesar police station in Haryana's Kurukshetra and later returned to Delhi on Friday evening. The Delhi Police has also registered an FIR against Punjab Police for not following proper rules during Bagga's arrest.
Punjab Police Approaches HC
After Bagga was taken from their custody, the Punjab Police approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. AG Anmol Rattan Sidhu reached the court along with police officers and charged Haryana police for wrongly interfering in the case.
Meanwhile, Satyapal Jain, appearing on behalf of the Delhi police, claimed that Punjab Police had not informed their Delhi counterparts and called it a political vendetta.
Punjab urged the high court to not let the Delhi police cross the Haryana border with Bagga. The HC asked the Haryana government to explain why it had stopped the Punjab police with Bagga at Kurukshetra.
Later however, the High Court turned down the Punjab government's request to keep Bagga in Haryana.
Bagga's Father Claims Assault by Punjab Police
Bagga's father, Pritpal Singh, claimed that he was assaulted. He told The Quint that three police personnel from Punjab Police came home. Within 15 minutes, 15 others barged in. He claimed that they did not allow Tajinder to wear his turban.
He said, "I 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."
Advocate Satyapal Jain, appearing for Delhi Police in Punjab and Haryana High Court told the media that the Delhi Police had lodged an FIR and flashed messages to various places. It also moved Dwarka court and obtained a search warrant, which meant that wherever Bagga was found, he could be rescued, taken into custody and brought back to the Dwarka Court.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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