Punjab RS bypoll: High drama as Chandigarh, Ropar police face off after Chaturvedi's nomination rejection

High drama unfolded after the nomination papers of Navneet Chaturvedi, who had filed for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Punjab, were rejected over forgery charges.

The Chandigarh Police, which were providing security to Chaturvedi, whisked him away before the Ropar Police could arrest him. The Ropar police, thereafter, followed the Chandigarh Police team to the police headquarters in Sector 9.

Meanwhile, Chaturvedi, a Jaipur resident who claims to be the national president of the Janata Party, said he would challenge the rejection of his nomination papers in the High Court.

Now, only two candidates remain in the fray for the elections scheduled for October 24. These are AAP official nominee Rajinder Gupta and his wife Madhu. She is likely to withdraw her nomination papers tomorrow.

On Monday evening, the Ropar police had registered an FIR against Chaturvedi for forging the signatures of Ropar AAP MLA Dinesh Chadha.

Today, during the scrutiny of the nomination papers under Returning Officer Ram Lok at Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh, eight Punjab MLAs were present. During the videography of the process, they alleged that the signatures that Chaturvedi had claimed to be theirs were actually fake.

While Chaturwedi, who was accompanied by Sector 3 SHO Narinder Patial as part of the security cover, was being taken away, the Ropar team, led by SP Gurdeep Singh Gosal, intercepted them in front of Sukhna Lake. A minor scuffle ensued between the police teams. As the Chandigarh team called the control room, SSP Kanwardeep Kaur and others rushed to the spot and escorted the team to the police headquarters.

A large contingent of Chandigarh Police has been deployed outside the office. The Ropar team, meanwhile, is stationed at a distance, awaiting further orders. Ropar SSP Gulneet Khurana has reached the UT police headquarters and is holding a meeting with the Chandigarh DGP.

Chaturvedi had filed two nominations for the Rajya Sabha seat from Punjab, one on October 6 and another on October 13. According to a Punjab Police spokesperson, the MLAs reported receiving messages and seeing social media posts indicating their names were listed as proposers in Chaturvedi’s nomination papers.

A handwritten list of proposers, purportedly bearing MLAs’ signatures, was attached with the documents and circulated online. The MLAs have denied signing or supporting the nomination, alleging their names and signatures were forged.