Tajinder Bagga arrest: 'Couldn't even wear turban,' says father
BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga was arrested by the Punjab Police from his Delhi residence on Friday morning. Now, acting on a complaint by Bagga's father, Preetpal Singh Bagga, the Delhi Police has filed a case of abduction. Preetpal claimed some people barged inside his home and allegedly thrashed his son. He also complained that Bagga wasn't even allowed to wear a turban.
Why does this story matter?
Notably, Bagga was booked last month for his statements against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal over his views on the film The Kashmir Files (2022). The Punjab Police registered a case against Bagga for making provocative statements, spreading rumors, and trying to create communal enmity based on AAP Punjab leader Sunny Singh Ahluwalia's complaint. Ahluwalia alleged Bagga threatened Kejriwal during a protest on March 30.
Punjab Police stopped in Haryana, Delhi Police files abduction case
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police team, which was taking Bagga for interrogation to Mohali, was stopped by the Haryana Police at Khanpur in Kurukshetra. This came after the Delhi Police shared a letter and a copy of the FIR (registered based on Preetpal's complaint) with Haryana's Director General of Police, explaining the circumstances of the leader's arrest. The Punjab Police, meanwhile, denied the abduction charge.
What the Delhi Police FIR states
In the Delhi Police's FIR, there is no mention of the main accused. However, the detailed report reportedly mentioned Punjab Police as the accused. The FIR was registered under IPC Sections 452, 365, 342, 392, 295A, and 34. These sections pertain to house trespass, kidnapping, wrongful confinement, robbery, and deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings, among others.
Delhi Police not informed of arrest, claims Bagga's family
Even as Bagga's family claimed that the Punjab Police hadn't informed the Delhi Police of his arrest, visuals shared by ANI showed the Punjab cops at a Delhi Police station with Bagga. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP spokesperson Naveen Kumar Jindal claimed around 50 cops barged into Bagga's home and arrested him. "He couldn't even wear his turban," he said—a claim backed by Bagga's father.
Tweet shows Bagga in a police station
Police punched me in face, claims Bagga's father
Preetpal also claimed he was punched in the face when he tried to capture his son's arrest on video. Preetpal told ANI, "This morning, 10-15 police personnel came to our home and dragged Tajinder out." "When I picked up my mobile phone to record a video of the incident, police took me to another room and punched me in the face," he added.
The issue between Kejriwal and Bagga
In March, BJP MLAs interrupted a Delhi Assembly session, demanding The Kashmir Files be made tax-free. Kejriwal said BJP should ask makers to upload the movie on YouTube, making it free. Asking BJP MLAs not to promote TKF, Kejriwal on March 24 mockingly said, "Some people are earning crores...in the name of Kashmiri Pandits and have given work of sticking posters to the BJP."
'The Kashmir Files' is painful history, not a lie: Bagga
Days after Kejriwal's comments, on March 31, Bagga glued posters—reading, "Listen Kejriwal, the film that you call a lie is a painful part of our history"—outside AAP's office. This came amid protests against Kejriwal for his blatant and "insensitive" remarks on The Kashmir Files. Members of the BJP's youth wing had also protested outside Kejriwal's residence against his "disrespectful" remarks about the "Kashmiri Genocide."
Punjab Police says five notices were sent to Bagga
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police said Bagga was served five notices to join their investigation but he didn't do so "deliberately." An FIR was also registered on Sunday by Punjab State Cyber Crime Cell, SAS Nagar, against Bagga. It was filed on the complaint of causing instigation, criminal intimidation to cause violence, and imminent hurt by publishing false, and communal inflammatory statements on social media.
BJP workers protest against Bagga's arrest
Following Bagga's arrest, Delhi BJP workers staged a protest outside the Janakpuri police station and raised slogans against Arvind Kejriwal. Accusing the Punjab Police of flouting rules and protocol, a BJP worker said, "The Delhi government is using Punjab police to kidnap BJP workers from Delhi. "They (Punjab police) did not inform the local police station in Delhi," alleged another.
