New Delhi: The AAP on Friday claimed Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga was arrested from Delhi by the Punjab Police for trying to stoke communal tension and violence in the border state and rejected the BJP’s charge of vendetta.
Though AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj referred to the clashes in Patiala on April 29, the Punjab Police said it arrested the Delhi BJP spokesperson from his residence in the national capital in connection with a case registered in Mohali on April 1.
The April 1 FIR referred to Bagga’s remarks on March 30, when he was part of a BJP youth wing protest outside the Delhi chief minister’s residence.
Defending the Punjab Police’s action, Bharadwaj told a press conference that the state police registered a case against Bagga last month after the BJP leader, through his social media posts, “tried to create communal tension and incite violence in the state”.
“Because of such statements, the Punjab Police lodged an FIR and now arrested Bagga. His statements were communal in nature. A lot of BJP-linked people were instigating the violence in Patiala,” Bhardwaj alleged.
The April 1 FIR was registered under relevant IPC sections, including 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place, etc.), 505 (whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Bagga had come under fire from the AAP, which is ruling both in Delhi and Punjab, for his tweet against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie.
After Bagga’s arrest, the BJP accused the Punjab Police of “abducting” him and alleged that AAP national convenor leader Arvind Kejriwal was pursuing vendetta through the state police.
Launching a counterattack, Bharadwaj said the Punjab Police arrested Bagga only after he did not join the investigation despite five summons.
“There is no vendetta. The Punjab Police is doing its work impartially,” he said, dismissing the BJP’s allegations of vindictive action as “absolutely wrong”.
—PTI
No vendetta, Bagga arrested for stoking communal tension, inciting violence in Punjab, claims AAP added by Press Trust of India on
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