BJP’s Tajinder Bagga got a big relief from the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday, after a case was filed against him over an alleged threat to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The 36-year-old can’t be arrested till 5 July, the court said.
Bagga’s arrest last week from his West Delhi home by the Punjab Police had triggered a huge political uproar as the Delhi Police and the Haryana Police intervened when he was being taken to Mohali. The Delhi Police filed a kidnapping case against the Punjab Police. He was released within hours in the midst of high drama. The BJP slammed the ruling AAP government in Punjab and called it “political vendetta”. However, the AAP had hit back saying that the arrest took place after Bagga did not join the probe in the case against him.
On Saturday, the high court stayed his arrest till Tuesday in a midnight hearing after a local court in Mohali had ordered an arrest warrant against him. A case was filed against the BJP leader on 1 April on the charges of making provocative statements, promoting enmity and criminal intimidation on a complaint of AAP leader Sunny Ahluwalia, a resident of Mohali.
Bagga has also appealed before a Delhi court, seeking directions to the Delhi Police “for the extension and enhancement” of his security and for “releasing his and his father’s cellphones”.
“We filed two separate applications before the court. In the first application, we mentioned that the two cellphones were currently in the custody of the IO (investigating officer) of the Janakpuri case and that they may be released to Bagga and his father. The second application mentioned that there is every likelihood that similar incidents endangering the life and liberty of our client (Bagga) will again be repeated and that he is living under constant apprehension of threat to his life and liberty,” said advocate Sanket Gupta, adding that the police officers concerned will file a reply before the court on Tuesday.