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AAP has been mandated in Punjab to present model governance but Bagga case dents that expectation

 



Brazen politicisation of police plays out over melodramatic arrest of Delhi BJP leader Bagga

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

 

The name Bashir Mohammad would not strike any chord.

However, his is a classic case to which the police in any state can cross all the limits.

He was a Punjab police deserter who joined the ranks of Sikh militants in Punjab and finally, preferred sanctuary in West Bengal with his wife Sakina Begum.

On May 17, 1993, a team of Punjab police led by superintendent of police Bathinda S K Singh raided a flat in Tiljila locality in Calcutta early in the morning and gunned down the couple. They took away their bodies. The West Bengal police were not informed.

What is more striking dimension of this case is that the Punjab police had used helicopter to reach Calcutta and it was refuelled too on the way. This helicopter was at the disposal of then highly glorified Punjab police chief K P S Gill. This is the only such case in which the police had used a helicopter in clandestine operation.

West Bengal was under CPM-led Left government headed by Jyoti Basu who took strong note of this brazen violation of all rules.

The case was finally handed over to the CBI and the guilty police officials convicted.

The Punjab police team today morning raided the house of Delhi BJP spokesman Tajinderpal Singh Bagga and took him into custody. He was being brought back when the Haryana police stopped the Punjab police convoy near Kurukshetra and rescued Bagga who was handed over to a team from Delhi police that also reached there. The Delhi police had earlier registered case of kidnapping against Punjab police and alerted the Haryana counterpart.

Bagga was arrested for some statement against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Punjab police.

It may be mentioned that Kumar Biswas and Delhi Congress leader Alka Lamba too have been booked by Punjab police for tweets against Kejriwal. This has to be seen in backdrop of the claim of India being the biggest democracy in the world.

The police in Delhi are not under Delhi government but the Union home ministry.

It is the Punjab police that is being used to silence critics of Kejriwal.

Punjab has AAP government headed by Bhagwant Mann.

Ironically, the BJP governments too have been similarly misusing the state police against critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani was recently arrested by Assam police in a case registered in that state for his tweet referring to the Prime Minister on a complaint lodged by a BJP activist. He was picked up from Gujarat. He finally got judicial relief.

The basic issue is the brazen misuse and politicisation of the police at various levels and the drama over arrest of Bagga is the latest that has played out in full media glare.

The problem in India is that brazen violations of the law by the police officials at times is hailed as acts of bravery, especially the cases of fake encounter. Punjab witnessed such cases in hundreds and even the Supreme Court finally took notice of cremation of unidentified bodies in hundreds. The National Human Rights Commission had awarded compensation in some cases. These cremations pertained to only three cremation grounds in Amritsar district and such casesin other districts were not investigated.

The issue is the rule of law but the problem is that the very people who are supposed to implement the rule of law violate it or in any cases, made to violate it. Punjab has been witnessing cases registered under political vendetta for years and was expected that the AAP government would set new traditions in clean and transparent governance.

After all, AAP was supposed to provide model governance.

What has happened today belies that hope. Time to take immediate steps to change the perception of two power centres that is gaining ground.

AAP’s next target is neighbouring Himachal Pradesh. What has happened in Delhi today can dent AAP at the political level.

It is fun day for electronic media as media vans followed Delhi police while taking back Bagga from Kurukshetra.

By the way, the police that opened fire on Sikh devotees at Behbal Kalan on October 14, 2015 demanding arrest of culprits responsible for sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari was unidentified going by that case. The Akali Dal is still paying for that as it happened under Parkash Singh Badal government.

           

 

 

 

 


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