Punjab Police arrest Delhi BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga

The Punjab and Haryana high court last month directed the Punjab Police to give prior notice if they want Bagga to join the probe

NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Police on Friday arrested Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga a month after he was booked in Mohali for criminal intimidation and allegedly making provocative, false, and communal inflammatory statements.

Senior police superintendent (Mohali) Vivek Sheel Soni said Bagga was arrested from his home in New Delhi’s Janakpur. “We are bringing him to Mohali and producing him in court.” He added Bagga was served five notices to join the investigation, but he deliberately ignored them.

The Punjab and Haryana high court last month directed the Punjab Police to give prior notice if they want Bagga to join the probe.

The case was registered after Sunny Singh Ahluwalia, a leader of Punjab’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) filed a complaint against Bagga, who later moved the high court to quash the First Information Report (FIR).

The Punjab Police told the court the allegations in the FIR were not centred on a single statement while citing provocative, inflammatory, and communally divisive statements Bagga allegedly made.

BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga.

Delhi BJP spokesman Praveen Shankar Kapoor condemned Bagga’s arrest and said it is shameful that AAP leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has started misusing the power his party has got in Punjab to terrorise his political opponents. “Every citizen of Delhi stands by the family of Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga in this hour of crisis.”

AAP spokesman Neel Garg said the police action against Bagga pertains to his provocative statements that posed a threat to peace in Punjab. “There is no connection with his remarks against Kejriwal. Bagga was sent summons five times, but he did not respond. The AAP government in Punjab does not interfere in police functioning. They are working independently.”

Bagga hit out at Kejriwal over the Delhi chief minister’s comments on ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits amid BJP’s demand for declaring the film tax-free. The BJP accused Kejriwal of “mocking” the displaced community.

In a tweet, AAP lawmaker Naresh Balyan referred to Bagga’s arrest and added he threatened Kejriwal saying “would not let you live”.