Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Bagga arrested by Punjab Police, say party leaders

PTI, May 6, 2022, 12:14 PM IST

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The Punjab Police has arrested Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga from his residence in the national capital on Friday, party leaders said.

The BJP leaders slammed AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of having a ”dictatorial mindset” and ”misusing” the police force of Punjab which is ruled by his party.

The police, however, have so far not given any statement about the arrest.

Bagga has been highly vocal against Kejriwal on social media. He came under fire from the AAP, which is ruling both Delhi and Punjab, for his tweets against the Delhi chief minister over ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie.

Last month, the Punjab Police booked Bagga on the charges of making provocative statements, promoting enmity and criminal intimidation. The case was registered on a complaint of AAP leader Sunny Ahluwalia, a resident of Mohali.

BJP leader from Punjab and the party’s national general secretary Tarun Chugh tweeted, ”The manner in which Kejriwal is misusing Punjab Police is condemnable. The Punjab Police has arrested Bagga from his home.” ”They behaved inhumanly with Bagga and his father. But remember (Arvind) Kejriwal Ji, your such acts cannot scare a true Sikh,” he said in the tweet.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Adesh Gupta said a complaint has been lodged at the Janakpuri police station in the national capital over the Punjab police allegedly beating Bagga’s father.

”FIR was lodged at Janakpuri police station over the Punjab Police beating Tajinder Bagga’s father. Sending 50-60 Punjab Police personnel to the house of the young BJP leader, forcibly lifting him up and getting his elderly father beaten up is proof of the dictatorial mindset of Arvind Kejriwal,” he tweeted in Hindi.

In the morning, Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra claimed that ”over 50 Punjab police personnel arrested Tejinder Bagga from his house. It seems Arvind Kejriwal has used the Punjab Police’s might to silence Bagga”.

In a video posted on Twitter, he alleged the Punjab Police was being ”misused” against activists and not for maintaining law and order in the state.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the party strongly condemns the arrest of Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga.

”It’s highly shameful that Kejriwal has started political misuse of power and the police in AAP-ruled Punjab to scare his opponents. Every citizen of Delhi stands with Bagga and his family in this hour of crisis,” he said.

The Mohali resident had accused Bagga of making provocative, false and inflammatory statements to outrage religious feelings, promote disharmony and create feelings of enmity, hatred and ill-will.

The FIR registered against the BJP leader was under relevant IPC sections, including 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place,), 505 (whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report) and 506 (criminal intimidation).