Bajwa intended to disturb peace in Punjab, says FIR

Mohali/Chandigarh : Leader of Opposition (LOP) and Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa was booked on the complaint of Punjab Police woman constable Taranpreet Kaur on Sunday for providing misleading information with the intention to disturb peace by claiming that 50 bombs have reached the border state.

Constable Taranpreet Kaur, who is a social media cell operator of Punjab Police in Mohali, stated in her complaint that as part of her duty of cyber monitoring, she was scrolling through social media posts/sites when she came across the objectionable post on Facebook.

“This post contains a statement/interview by leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, wherein he claims that 50 grenades have reached the state of Punjab, out of which 18 have been used and 32 remain to be detonated across the state. From the contents of the interview, it is evident that Bajwa did not disclose the source of this information or the possible targets against whom the grenades are to be used,” the FIR read.

She said that by making such a statement, he intended to disturb public peace and tranquillity, creating a sense of fear, ill-will, and enmity among different communities.

“This interview appears to have been given intentionally to create disharmony by spreading false and misleading information that jeopardises public peace, unity, and integrity,” the constable said.

Acting on her complaint, Bajwa was booked under Sections 197(1)(d) (false and misleading information that endangers the country’s sovereignty and unity) and 353(2) (false statements intend to create enmity and hatred or ill will), a non-bailable offence, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the cybercrime police station in Phase-7, Mohali, on Sunday night.

Section 353(2) of the BNS, which deals with false statements intended to create enmity or hatred, is non-bailable. This means that an individual arrested under this section cannot be released on bail before a court hearing. The section also specifies a punishment of imprisonment for up to three years, or with fine, or with both.

Cong leader fails to appear

Bajwa failed to appear before the cybercrime police station in Phase 7, Mohali, on Monday and sought time till 2pm on Tuesday to face questioning.

The FIR was registered against Bajwa in Mohali on Sunday night after he failed to establish the source of his startling claim to a TV channel that 50 grenades had entered Punjab, of which 18 had already exploded, while 32 remained active and unexploded.

Following Bajwa’s ‘50 bombs’ claim, chief minister Bhagwant Mann ordered an investigation. Intelligence officers AIG Ravjot Kaur and SP Harbir Singh Atwal visited Bajwa’s house in Chandigarh for an inquiry, but said later that the Congress leader failed to cooperate, which led to the filing of the FIR and subsequent summons.

Bajwa, through his counsel, expressed his inability to appear before the police in Mohali on Monday noon and sought time till 2pm on Tuesday to do so, saying he had received the summons late on Sunday night.

Bajwa’s lawyer met police officials and assured them that the Congress leader would present himself for questioning on Tuesday.

AAP slams Cong leader

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hit out at Bajwa for failing to appear before the police. In a statement , AAP MP Malvinder Kang asked Bajwa why he was hesitant to share information about his claim with the Punjab Police. “Bajwa finds time for hours-long television interviews, but he fails to make time to cooperate with the police,” he said, asking what personal matters could possibly outweigh the security of the state and the nation.

Copy of FIR provided to Bajwa’s counsel

A Mohali court on Monday directed the cybercrime wing to upload the first information report besides handing him a hard copy of the FIR.

Through his counsels HS Deol and HS Dhanoa, Bajwa urged the Mohali court to direct the station house officer (SHO) of the police station to share a hard copy of the FIR. His counsel said that Bajwa was not home at the time of the delivery of notice on April 13 at 9pm and being out of station didn’t know the contents of the FIR against him.

The court of duty magistrate Abhay Rajan Shukla, judicial magistrate 1st Class, referred to the guidelines of the apex court that an FIR should be uploaded on the website of the concerned police station within 24 hours of its registration otherwise prejudice would be caused to the accused.

Acting on the court’s direction, the police handed over a copy of the FIR to Bajwa’s counsel.

I could be targeted, says Bajwa

On his part, Bajwa said a police team visited his residence and questioned him for his statement. “I gave an interview to a TV channel. My sources had informed me that 50 bombs have reached here and 18 bombs have exploded at police stations in border areas and other places,” he told reporters at his residence.

“These are my own sources. As I have remained MLA and MP, I have my sources in Punjab, in the intelligence department and central agencies. They gave me the information two days ago, saying the situation is turning sensitive (in Punjab). They warned me that I could also be one of the targets,” he said.