How ‘Janata Party’ boss's forged Rajya Sabha bypoll papers sparked Punjab vs Chandigarh Police clash
High drama unfolded in Chandigarh as police clashed over the custody of Navneet Chaturvedi, accused of forging AAP MLAs' signatures for Rajya Sabha nominations.
Chandigarh earlier this week witnessed high drama as Punjab and Chandigarh police came face-to-face over the custody of Navneet Chaturvedi, a Rajasthan resident accused of forging signatures of 10 AAP MLAs on Rajya Sabha bypoll nomination papers.
A minor scuffle reportedly broke out near Sukhna Lake on Tuesday when Punjab Police attempted to arrest Navneet Chaturvedi, who claims to be the president of the Janata Party (India) and was under protection by Chandigarh Police following his claim of fear of abduction.
Also Read | Punjab Police takes Navneet Chaturvedi into custody after 28-hr standoff
Court intervenes in custody dispute
On Wednesday, a Rupnagar court intervened after the Chandigarh Police allegedly prevented Punjab cops from executing an arrest warrant. The court directed SHO Narinder Patiyal to explain why Navneet Chaturvedi had been kept in custody since Tuesday evening and had not cooperated with Rupnagar police. It also ordered the Chandigarh senior superintendent of police to countersign the explanation within four days.
Addressing the media, Punjab state counsel Ferry Sofat said their police moved the court in Rupnagar after Chandigarh Police did not cooperate in executing an arrest warrant issued against Chaturvedi on Tuesday.
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“It was the duty of the Chandigarh police to assist the Rupnagar police in executing the arrest warrant, but they did not comply with it,” said Sofat.
On Rupnagar police's plea, a chief judicial magistrate court on Wednesday issued directions to the Chandigarh Police to assist in executing the arrest warrant against Chaturvedi.
The order said that it appears to the court that the SHO (Patiyal) failed to perform his duties, and instead of cooperating with the Rupnagar police, he created "hindrance" in the execution of warrant of arrest of the accused.
Also Read | Punjab RS bypoll: Chaturvedi moves HC for protection from arrest
The court also said the Chandigarh Police was obligated to assist Rupnagar Police officers carrying an arrest warrant.
Forgery allegations surface
Chaturvedi filed two sets of nomination papers, on October 6 and October 13. Both sets allegedly contained forged signatures of 10 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, including Ashok Parashar Pappi and Dinesh Kumar Chadha. During scrutiny, election authorities rejected his nominations.
Punjab minister raises concerns
Punjab minister Aman Arora accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government of “destroying democracy” and alleged that the Chandigarh Police provided VIP treatment to Chaturvedi instead of cooperating with the Punjab Police.
Multiple FIRs and past allegations
Police confirmed that Chaturvedi already faced multiple FIRs across Punjab for similar alleged irregularities. MLA Pappi filed a separate complaint alleging that Chaturvedi forged his signature on the nomination papers, amounting to electoral fraud, forgery, and impersonation.
Arrest after prolonged standoff
After nearly 28 hours, the Punjab Police arrested Chaturvedi from Sector 3 police station, Chandigarh, on Wednesday around 8:15pm. Over 50 Punjab police personnel, including SPs, DSPs, and inspectors, had been stationed outside the police station since Tuesday afternoon, some hiding nearby to prevent any secret transfer of the accused.
Bypoll context
The Rajya Sabha bypoll on October 24 is being held to fill the vacancy created by AAP’s Sanjeev Arora, who resigned after winning a state assembly seat. The AAP has fielded industrialist Rajinder Gupta as its candidate. The party enjoys a majority with 93 members in the 117-member Punjab assembly.
