Tajinder Bagga: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi Police Spar Over Catch & Release

The arrest of National Secretary BJP Youth Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga kicked off a tri-state political row between Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab with police from all three states vying for his custody. The day-long hi-octane drama kicked off early Friday morning after the Punjab Police arrested Bagga from his residence in West Delhi and will perhaps end when he reaches home tonight with the Delhi Police.

BOOM recaps the latest developments and reconstructs the timeline of events.

Where is Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga Now?

According to the latest news reports, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga is in the custody of Delhi Police and the entourage is now returning to Delhi. The Delhi Police took custody of Bagga at Kurukshetra in Haryana after it filed kidnapping charges against Punjab Police.

Delhi Police got Bagga's custody after the Punjab and Haryana High Court turned down a request by the Punjab government seeking to detain the BJP leader in Haryana. Punjab government had moved the high court against the "illegal" detention of its state police in Kurukshetra, Haryana. Advocate General Anmol Ratan Sidhu informed the high court that Haryana Police interfered when five SSPs waylaid the Punjab Police and handed over Bagga to the Delhi Police. Former Chandigarh MP Satyapal Jain, representing Delhi Police told the high court that Punjab Police had failed to inform its peers in Delhi prior to the arrest.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has filed kidnapping and assault charges against Punjab Police on a complaint made by Bagga's father.

At a press conference held early this evening, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi Marlena refuted allegations of government overreach and defended Bagga's arrest. Marlena said Bagga was booked for stoking communal tension. Delhi Police early evening detained BJP supporters who were protesting outside the AAP office in the national capital.

AAP's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said: "Tajinder Pal Bagga is a characterless man known for using abusive, nasty words...Punjab Police issued several summons to him but he never responded to them or cared to join the police investigation. Punjab Police is working to maintain peace, while Delhi and Haryana Police is trying to protect such gundas and hooligans."

Timeline of events:

Early Friday morning, Punjab Police allegedly barged in Bagga's West Delhi residence and arrested him for making inflammatory tweets against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Punjab Police said it was arresting Bagga since the BJP leader ignored summons issued by the police officials.

Even as BJP Delhi spokesperson Naveen Kumar Jindal said around 50 officials from Punjab Police came to arrest Bagga, the BJP leader's father Preet Pal Singh Bagha in an FIR filed with Delhi Police claimed around 10-15 police officers whisked his son away.

In the afternoon, Haryana Police stopped Punjab Police at Kurukshetra while it was en route to Mohali with Bagga. Haryana Police allegedly detained the team from Punjab Police for at least six hours as Delhi Police caught up at Kurukshetra and took custody of Bagga.

Simultaneously, multiple pleas seeking Bagga's custody and whereabouts were filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court—by Punjab Police, and a local court in Delhi—by Bagga's father Preet Pal Singh Bagga. While the Punjab and Haryana high court in a late afternoon hearing turned down the Punjab government's request to detain Bagga in Haryana, a local court in Delhi issued a search warrant seeking Bagga's whereabouts. It was during this hearing the Delhi Police apprised the court that Bagga was traced in Kurukshetra.