Lok Insaaf Party MLA Simarjit Bains, booked following his altercation with Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Vipul Ujjwal, on Friday dared the Punjab Police to arrest him by holding a protest barely 50 meters away from Batala SSP’s office.
Bains reached Batala, apparently to throw a challenge to the police to arrest him, and addressed a protest rally near the SSP’s office, but went back to Ludhiana after the police did not act against him.
Notably, the Gurdaspur court has denied anticipatory bail to the Ludhiana’s Atam Nagar MLA describing his behaviour as “irresponsible, threatening, and intimidating”. He is yet to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Bains has been booked on the charges of voluntarily obstructing and assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant from discharging the duty, trespassing, criminal intimidation and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code after he allegedly misbehaved with Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Vipul Ujwal publicly at the Batala civil hospital.
A video of the incident, which took place following a blast in a firecracker unit in Batala on September 4 that killed 24 persons, had emerged on social media. In the 45-second clip, Bains is seen shouting at Ujwal even as the officer tries to clear the confusion over the identity of a blast victim’s body.
The FIR was registered against the MLA on the complaint of Batala Sub-divisional Magistrate Balraj Singh who was present at the time of the incident.
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, while making it clear that he would not tolerate misbehaviour with his officers, clarified that FIR was registered against the MLA on his directions.
The case relates to a September 5 incident, when Bains, along with his supporters, had engaged in a verbal duel with IAS officer Ujwal.
Clearing air on the rumours regarding his arrest, Bains had declared, a day before, that he would himself be going to stage a dharna at Gandhi Chowk in Batala on Friday, and with him, his supporters, who have also been booked along with him, would also accompany the MLA.
Taking a dig at the police, Bains asked why the police was coming to Ludhiana from Batala to splurge on expensive petrol, “I would myself be there to tage a dharna and police can arrest me there”.