Punjab and Haryana High Court today granted bail to Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal in Jaitu case reopened against him by Faridkot police. He is expected to be released from Faridkot jail on Thursday (Oct 9).
Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal through his counsel told Punjab and Haryana High Court that Punjab government under a vendetta politics booked him and arrested him in various old cases, which the police had closed earlier.
Earlier, Baba Daduwal had secured bail in three cases. However, Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal was not released as he still faced one case at Jaitu in which he secured bail from the High Court.
Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal was arrested by Faridkot police from Kot Shamir village of Bathinda district on August 21 night.
Divulging the details of the proceedings, counsel for Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal, Advocate Gurvinder Singh Sidhu reportedly told Punjab Timeline News, “The bail is granted by justice Anita Chaudhary on the grounds of flip-flop of Faridkot police”.
“Baba Daduwal is expected to be released from Faridkot jail on Thursday (October 9, 2014) as tomorrow is holiday”, told Sidhu.
According to the case details, Baba Daduwal along with nine others was arrested under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 353 (use of force to deter public servant from discharging of his duty), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 186, 148 and 149 of the IPC and various Sections of the Arms Act at the Jaitu police station in Faridkot on March 16, 2009, on the complaint of Sub-inspector Gurlabh Singh, ASI Rashpal Singh and others after Daduwal’s supporters clashed with the police over his religious congregation.
However, on March 24, 2009, the police cancelled Sections 307, 323 and 324 of the IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act and released Daduwal and others on March 31. The police cancellation report said when the accused presented licences of the weapons, they dropped the attempt to murder charge also.
On August 14, 2014, the Jaitu police on the complaint of former ASI Rashpal Singh and former SI Bhalla Singh, have re-imposed the attempt to murder charge on Daduwal and others in the same old case.
SSP Faridkot reopened the case, in which Faridkot police had filed cancellation report, terming that the cops complained of injustice in the case. He can’t reopen it.
The section 25 of Arms act was removed after Baba Daduwal showed licenses of the firearms but police registered a new case on similar grounds.
“It is very unfortunate that the legal owner of the firearms is booked twice for owning the weapons”, GS Sidhu told the court.
The other cases
Except Jaitu case, Sikh preacher Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal was arrested, under those FIRs in which the police had withdrawn the most serious charges. The police had also recommended termination of certain IPC Sections in the FIR to the courts concerned.
On January 2, 2011, about 60 identified and about 700 unidentified persons were booked (in an open FIR) for attempt to murder and under the Arms Act following another clash between the police and supporters of Daduwal in Bhikhi town of Mansa. Sixty-one accused, including Daduwal, were arrested. However, they were released after two days following the dropping of the charge of attempt to murder. A few days later, the police revised the FIR again clamping criminal conspiracy (Section 120) on Daduwal and others for making a provocative speech. He was not arrested then.