Tajinder Bagga, who is also the spokesperson of Delhi BJP, has termed his detention by the Punjab police as “illegal” and said that he will keep fighting until Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal apologised for his comments on Kashmiri Pandits.
New Delhi: BJP’s Tajinder Bagga, whose arrest Friday set off a dramatic showdown involving two parties and police forces across three states, has been granted police security by a court in Delhi. Mr Bagga has termed his detention by Punjab police as “illegal”.
After his release from Punjab police custody, Mr Bagga was brought to Delhi and produced before a court in Dwarka where the Duty Magistrate directed the Delhi Police to provide security to the BJP leader and his family. The Duty Magistrate decided to provide security after the BJP leader expressed an apprehension that such incidents may happen to him again, his lawyers said.
Advocates YP Singh and Sanket Gupta, who appeared for Mr Bagga, also said that a medical examination of Mr Bagga revealed injuries in his back and shoulder. Mr Bagga’s statement would be recorded before the Magistrate concerned on Monday.
Mr Bagga reached his residence in Delhi late on Friday night, nearly 20 hours after he was detained by Punjab Police from his home in the national capital. Mr Bagga flashed the victory sign upon his arrival and was fed sweets by Delhi BJP President Adesh Gupta at his residence.
“Police officials started dragging Tajinder (Bagga), they didn’t allow him to wear his turban, this is against our religious principles. We’ve asked Punjabi brothers to raise their voices against this. Finally, Tajinder is back, this is the victory of truth,” PS Bagga, the father of Tajinder Singh Bagga, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Mr Bagga, who is also the spokesperson of Delhi BJP, has termed his detention by the Punjab police as “illegal” and said that he will keep fighting until Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal apologised for his comments on Kashmiri Pandits.
The AAP has claimed that the BJP leader was arrested for trying to stoke communal tension and violence in the border state and rejected the BJP’s charge of vendetta. Delhi BJP spokesperson Naveen Kumar Jindal claimed around 50 cops barged into Mr Bagga’s Delhi home and arrested him. “He couldn’t even wear his turban,” he said.
The Haryana police escorted the Punjab police team to a police station in Kurukshetra and detained them. At the same time, the Punjab and Haryana High Court turned down AAP-ruled Punjab’s demand that Mr Bagga remain in Haryana instead of being handed over to Delhi cops.
Delhi police, which reports to the Centre, claimed they were not informed in advance about the arrest. Punjab police have refuted the charge, saying one of their teams has been at a police station in Delhi since last evening.
Hours later, a team of Delhi police reached Kurukshetra and “rescued” Mr Bagga, who flashed a victory sign as he changed cars. The Delhi police brought Mr Bagga back to the national capital.
