No arrest yet in Bajwa remarks case: Govt to HC

Punjab: The government today told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it has no intention at present to arrest opposition leader Partap Singh Bajwa in a case registered against him after he commented on grenades allegedly smuggled into the state. As the matter came up for hearing again, additional solicitor general Deepinder Singh told Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya that no arrest would be made till May 7. Taking note of the submission, the bench adjourned the hearing, granting the state additional time to file a detailed reply. It also made it clear that the investigation will continue and if required, notice will be served before any action.

Seeking quashing of the FIR lodged in the case, Bajwa said he had commented on the “deteriorating law and order situation in the state, including the recent bomb blasts” after appearing on a talk show on April 10. He said the government was “sleeping on intelligence inputs”, despite a newspaper report a day earlier referring to grenades allegedly smuggled from Pakistan. Following this, the CM publicly stated that he had directed the police to trace the grenades mentioned by the petitioner as he allegedly had information in this regard. Based on a complaint by a constable, an FIR was filed alleging that the petitioner had said through an interview on Facebook that 50 grenades had reached Punjab, of which 18 had been used and 32 were yet to be detonated. The complainant claimed that the statement was misleading and aimed at spreading discontent.