Bagga’s arrest: Punjab Govt plea in High Court for preserving CCTV footage

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, May 7

Amidst claims and counterclaims on informing the Delhi Police about BJYM leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga’s arrest from his house in the national capital, the State of Punjab today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking the preservation of CCTV footage of the police stations in Delhi and Kurukshetra district.

Punjab’s plea assumes significance as perusal of the CCTV footage can help the Court to determine whether Bagga was in lawful custody of the Punjab Police, or “abducted”. Punjab’s consistent stand in the “State versus State” case is that a senior police officer belonging to the Punjab police had gone to a police station in Delhi to inform the cops there in accordance with the established procedure.

Its counsel had told Justice Lalit Batra’s Bench on Friday Deputy Superintendent of Police Kuljinder Singh had, in fact, gone to Janakpuri police station in Delhi to inform about Bagga’s arrest with a view to get a DDR lodged. But he was illegally detained by the Delhi Police officials.

The State in its habeas corpus petition before the High Court had also challenged the detention of its police officials in Kurukshetra area. Both the contentions were vehemently opposed by the Delhi and Haryana police. The Bench was told that Punjab Police officials were not detained by the Kurukshetra police in any manner. They were, on their own, sitting in the room of SHO, Sadar police station in Kurukshetra.

Refuting the claims of being informed about the arrest, the Delhi police had told the Bench that a wireless message was flashed to intercept and trace “abducted” Bagga. On receipt of information from Kurukshetra Police, Bagga was “rescued” by the Delhi police with the assistance of Kurukshetra police and brought back to the national capital for his production before a Delhi Court.

Punjab in the application said: “For the correct decision in the present case, the CCTV footage dated May 6 of Janakpuri police station in New Delhi and Sadar police station in Thanesar, Kurukshetra district, is required to be produced and preserved by the respondents”.

The case will now come up for resumed hearing before Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu on May 10 after Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill’s Bench today adjourned the hearing. Taking up the habeas corpus plea, Justice Gill directed the submission of status report/reply by the next date of hearing. The matter will now come up for hearing along with Bagga’s earlier plea for quashing the FIR registered against him.

Didn’t detain Punjab cops: Haryana, Delhi

• The sate told the court a DSP had gone to Janakpuri police station in Delhi to inform about Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga’s arrest with a view to get a DDR lodged, but was illegally detained
• The state also challenged the detention of its police officials in Kurukshetra. Both the contentions were vehemently opposed by the Delhi and Haryana police. The next hearing is on May 10