Faridkot: A day after the police took controversial religious leader Baljit Singh Daduwal into preventive custody, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a notice to the state government. Daduwal was to be released from the Faridkot Central Jail as he had secured bail from the High Court. But immediately after his release, the police took him into preventive custody. They claimed “he was an imminent threat to peace”.
He was produced before a duty magistrate, who sent him to seven-day judicial custody.
But the re-arrest seems to have landed the police and the civil administration in trouble as Daduwal’s family members have filed a writ petition in the High Court. They have demanded the court to order his release from the “illegal” custody.
The High Court is learnt to have issued the notice to the government for Monday.
While the government officials claimed Daduwal was sent into judicial custody as he declined to submit surety bail bonds, his father-in-law Gurmit Singh (in the writ petition) alleged that the police did not allow him to tender the bonds.
Daduwal was in jail since August 22 after being arrested for his alleged involvement in two criminal cases.
To prove Daduwal as an “imminent threat”, the police relied upon video clips of the huge gathering of his supporters outside the side. The police alleged Daduwal and his supporters had planned to forcibly take the possession of a gurdwara in Jandialisar village in Bathinda, which would have triggered clashes with the residents. As such, he was re-arrested under Section 107 and 151 of the CrPC.
Harjit Singh Sandhu, Sub-Divisional Magistrate-cum-duty magistrate, said there was no violation of rules in arresting and sending Daduwal to judicial custody. “Though the offence under Section 107 and 151 of the CrPC is bailable, Daduwal was sent into judicial custody as he refused to tender the surety bail bonds,” said Sandhu.
But Gurvinder Singh Sidhu, appearing for Daduwal in the High Court, alleged the administration violated the High Court ruling issued when the religious leaders and 20 of his supporters were arrested in a similar manner on April 11 last year.
As the police were using preventive custody as a tool to put Daduwal in jail time and again, the High Court had issued directions to the district magistrates not to abuse this process of law, claimed Sidhu.
“After I came to know about Daduwal’s arrest yesterday, I informed Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Tayyab and Senior Superintendent of Police SS Kahlon about the High Court’s order. I even sent them text messages that the arrest was a violation of the court order. But they did not bother,” he said.
The Deputy Commissioner feigned ignorance about having received any such text message.
“As Daduwal is a victim of political rivalry between the Akali Dal-INLD on one side and the Congress on the other in Haryana, we had demanded the High Court to order his release from illegal custody,” said Sidhu.
COURT ORDER COMES ON WRIT PETITION BY KIN
- The HC has issued the notice to the government for Monday
- Baljit Singh Daduwal was to be released from the Faridkot Central Jail on Thursday
- He had secured bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court
- As soon as he was let off, the police took him into preventive custody
- They claimed he was an imminent threat to peace
- The officials claimed Daduwal was sent into judicial custody as he declined to submit surety bail bonds
- But his father-in-law alleged the police did not allow Daduwal to tender surety bail bonds
- As the cops were using preventive custody as a tool to put Daduwal in jail time and again, the HC had issued directions to the magistrates not to abuse this process of law – Gurvinder Sidhu, DADUWAL’S COUNSEL
Hearings deferred
The hearing in two different cases registered in Mansa district against Baljit Singh Daduwal was adjourned as the Sikh preacher could not make it to the court. The hearing in the case relating to a clash between his followers and the police in Bhikhi (Mansa) in January 2011 would be on January 21, 2015. In the other case registered under the Arms Act for illegal possession of weapons on August 27, the hearing has been deferred till October 20.
Source: TNS