File Photo: Bhai Daljit Singh and Bhai Kulbir Singh at Darbar Sahib Amritsar
Ludhiana/Punjab (September 20, 2012): According to recent reports available with Sikh Siyasat SGPC member and Akali Dal Panch Pardhani (ADPP) President Bhai Kulbir Singh Barapind and ADPP supreme council member Bhai Daljeet Singh who were arrested by Punjab Police, have been remanded to judicial custody and are sent to Ludhiana Jail.
Bhai Kulbir Singh Barapind was arrested from his house around midnight on the intervening night of 19 and 20 September by Nawanshehr police, while Bhai Daljeet Singh was arrested by Ludhiana police by from his residence on 20 September at around 9 am. Both of them were lodged in Ludhian jail.
According to Times of India (TOI) news report “[E]ven as till Thursday morning Jalndhar Rural Police, under which village Barpind is located, claimed that it was not aware of the arrest. Nawanshahr SSP Dhanpreet Kaur said that it was a preventive detention in the wake of Bharat Bandh call. A team of police officials led by Nawanshahr SP (HQ) Dharam singh Uppal picked Barapind from his house and did not give any reason to him or his family to round him up”.
“He was sent to judicial custody in Ludhiana jail till September 25 after he was produced by police before a magistrate after arresting him under sections 107/151 CrPC at around 9.30”, TOI report adds.
It further adds that the explanation by police officials to link the detentions with Bharat Bandh call sounded bizarre as Akali Dal Panch Pardhani had neither given a call for and bandh nor had articulated its views in support of FDI in retail.
Dal Khalsa has strongly criticized the arrests of Sikh leaders.
“Both the leaders and their party have remained neutral to the current political controversy and to term their arrest preventive in view of the bandh call is ridiculous and reflects that in Punjab police could put anybody behind bars anytime without any solid reason,” said Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal singh while criticizing the arrests.
Kanwarpal Singh argued that “If state government and police apprehended any disturbance to peace then SAD-BJP workers should have been arrested as they were participating in the bandh”.
According to TOI report Jalndhar (Rural) SSP Yurinder Singh Hayer said that they had not arrested anybody else in the district as a preventive measure.
As the two arrests stood isolated with no preventive arrests of other political activists the police officials were feeling short of words to explain the actual reason.
TOI has quoted sources as saying that there were some other reasons to pick them up from their houses and orders had come from ‘above’.
“The reason later given by the local police officials was after thought, said a police source” says TOI news report.
It is notable that Bhai Kulbir Singh Barapind was extradited from United States of America. He was tried in three cases and was acquitted in all the cases. He happens to be the only SGPC member of anti SAD (Badal) factions from entire Doaba region. He had won the election from Phillaur constituency.