A local court in Tarn Taran sent Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) IT wing head Nachhatar Singh to one-day police remand, a day after he was arrested for allegedly obstructing the CIA staff from performing their duty on November 5.
The CIA officials were returning from duty at Chabhal Chowk when they were allegedly stopped by Nachhatar and around 20-25 other persons, said the police officials.
A case under various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered against Nachhatar and others at the city police station in Tarn Taran on the complaint of inspector Prabhjit Singh, in-charge, CIA staff, Tarn Taran.
Advocate Arshdeep Singh Kler, who is also spokesperson for the SAD, appeared in court for Nachhatar Singh. After the hearing, he said that the state government is frustrated over the support extended by the voters of Tarn Taran to the party during the bypoll.
“A false case has been registered against the party leaders 10 days after the alleged incident. Kanchanpreet Kaur, who is the daughter of the party candidate Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, and other party leaders have been nominated in the FIR. Kanchanpreet had complained that she was being followed by cops in a car, having a fake number plate. The party will fight the legal battle at every level to counter this FIR,” Kler said.
SAD, on Sunday, urged the Election Commission of India to initiate an independent inquiry into all the FIRs registered in Tarn Taran immediately after the declaration of results.
{{/usCountry}}SAD, on Sunday, urged the Election Commission of India to initiate an independent inquiry into all the FIRs registered in Tarn Taran immediately after the declaration of results.
{{/usCountry}}In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the party spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said, “If strict action is not taken against the state government and the erring officials, public faith in the ECI will be severely undermined, setting a dangerous precedent for future elections.”
Cheema went on to add that by unleashing such unprecedented and illegal actions, the (state) government wants to intimidate the public and signal that the ECI’s authority ends with the polls.
“This vendetta politics is aimed at punishing those leaders who refused to bow to the pressure of the Bhagwant Mann government”, he added.
Cheema said that despite a written complaint, no action was taken against police officers who suspiciously followed the party’s candidate’s daughter, Kanchanpreet Kaur, in a vehicle with fake number plates. “Instead, after the results, those who exposed the incident have been falsely implicated and arrested. This is a direct challenge to the ECI,” he added, demanding that the ECI must get the entire matter investigated through an independent election observer.