Tajinder Bagga Arrest: Punjab and Haryana High Court Adjourns Proceedings Till Tuesday

The Delhi Police, in their defence, said that they received a complaint of kidnapping from Bagga's father at around noon on Friday following which an FIR was registered post-noon.

New Delhi: In the latest developments in Tajinder Bagga Arrest Case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday adjourned the proceedings in the case of alleged detention of Punjab Police officials by the Haryana Police till Tuesday while Punjab Police and Delhi Police in their reports have claimed that they had not detained any police officials.

The Delhi Police had, on Friday, registered a case of kidnapping after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and the national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga was arrested by the Punjab Police, officials told PTI. They claimed that the Punjab Police team did not inform the local police before arresting Tajinder Bagga from his residence in Delhi’s Janakpuri. Tajinder Bagga was arrested in held in connection with a case registered against him in Mohali last month, the Punjab Police said.

Questions have been raised about whether Haryana Police stopped the Punjab Police team that was taking Bagga to Mohali even before Delhi Police registered an FIR under charges of kidnapping? The chronology of Friday’s dramatic cat-and-mouse game raises questions on whether legal processes were bypassed for political objectives.

The Delhi Police, in their defence, said that they received a complaint of kidnapping from Bagga’s father at around noon on Friday following which an FIR was registered post-noon. Later, the Delhi Police personnel approached the Dwarka court for a search warrant and alerted Haryana Police.

Hours after being arrested by the Punjab Police, Bagga had returned to Delhi on Friday evening. After Delhi Police took Bagga’s custody, Punjab Police approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the “detention” of its police team in Kurukshetra. Terming the intervention by the Haryana Police ‘a violation of law’, Advocate General (AG) Anmol Rattan Sidhu claimed that everything was going as per procedure but the Haryana cops delayed the process. The Punjab government also requested the court to not let the Delhi Police cross the Haryana border with Bagga.

“Learned Additional Solicitor General of India submits that in pursuant to registration of FIR No.327 dated 06.05.2022, as detailed above, at the instance of Preetpal Singh Bagga, father of Tejinder Pal Singh Bagga, search warrant to effect appearance of said Tejinder Pal Singh Bagga was obtained from Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi, and further wireless message was flashed to intercept and trace the abducted person,” reads the Punjab and Haryana High Court order.

Haryana Police say that they stopped the vehicle taking Bagga to Mohali after receiving a message from Delhi Police while the Punjab Police claims that they were stopped by Haryana Police near Kurukshetra around 11.30 am – an hour before the complaint was registered.

Advocate Puneet Bali, who is representing the Punjab Government, on Saturday, said the police forces of Delhi and Haryana have filed their replies in which they stated that as far as Punjab Police personnel are concerned, they’ve not been detained, they didn’t detain anyone, and everyone was released.

“Delhi Police and Haryana Police have filed a reply. They, in their reply, state that as far as Punjab Police personnel are concerned, they’ve not been detained, they didn’t detain anyone and everyone was released,” said Advocate Puneet Bali, representing the Punjab Government while addressing the media.

“Haryana Police says that they’ve handed over the custody of Bagga to Delhi Police and Delhi Police says that they’ve been handed over custody by Punjab Police. So, we’ll file a reply on the dichotomy in their replies. We’ll also take apt legal action, whatever required under law,” he added.

Bagga had been arrested by the Punjab Police on Friday on the basis of a complaint filed by AAP leader Sunny Singh following which his father Preetpal Singh approached the Delhi Police. He alleged that his son was kidnapped by some armed persons. On this complaint, Delhi Police had registered an FIR for kidnapping.

(With agency inputs)