The North News
Chandigarh, April 16
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted interim relief to Congress leader and Leader of Opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, staying his arrest till April 22. The decision comes in response to Bajwa’s petition seeking the quashing of an FIR lodged by the Mohali police over his controversial claim that 50 grenades had entered Punjab, of which 18 had allegedly been used.
Bajwa’s counsel, senior advocate Amarpreet Singh Deol, confirmed the court’s order and said that Bajwa has also been directed not to make any public statements on the matter while proceedings are underway. “He will cooperate fully with the investigation and appear before the police whenever summoned,” Deol added.
The grenade remark, made earlier, triggered a political row, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government moving swiftly to register a criminal case, citing concerns over public order and the spread of misinformation.
Led by state party chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, the Punjab Congress has staged protests yesterday in Chandigarh and outside a police station in Mohali, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party government of falsely implicating senior leader Partap Singh Bajwa in a case. Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday publicly dismissed Bajwa’s statement as “entirely false,” accusing the Congress of spreading fear and misleading the people for political mileage.
