Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday condemned the arrest of Kanchanpreet Kaur, daughter of the party’s Tarn Taran candidate Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, calling it a violation of high court orders. The party thanked the court for intervening and halting any police remand until the matter is taken up by the trial court later this evening.
Addressing reporters, SAD legal cell chief Arshdeep Singh Kler alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Punjab DGP and senior police officials challenged the high court’s earlier order that granted interim bail to Kanchanpreet in four cases. He said non-bailable sections were later added to another case to justify her arrest.
Kler accused the AAP government of acting out of “political vengeance,” claiming that no criminal case existed against Kanchanpreet before the elections. He added that police officers responsible for filing “false cases” and arresting her without due procedure would be held accountable.
He also informed that he had moved a petition before the high court, which directed the trial court not to grant remand until Kanchanpreet’s lawyers appear in court. The trial court will now decide whether adding a non-bailable offence to a previously bailable FIR was legally justified.
Meanwhile, the SAD said the AAP government had targeted a young woman leader with “fabricated charges,” showing “disrespect for the daughters of Punjab and the rule of law.” Senior leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema urged civil society, women’s groups, and democratic organisations to condemn what he termed a blatant misuse of power.
He said such “unconstitutional actions” must be stopped immediately, adding that they cannot be allowed to continue “on the sacred land of the Gurus.”
