Punjab police on Monday constituted multiple teams to arrest senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia and several others in connection with an alleged incident at the Majitha police station in Amritsar, where a group is accused of creating a disturbance and attempting to secure the release of a detainee from police custody.
According to Amritsar Rural Police, officers visited Majithia's residence in Amritsar on Monday as part of the operation, but the SAD leader was not present at the time. Police alleged that Majithia, along with nearly 50 to 60 supporters, forcibly entered the Majitha police station on Sunday, searched various rooms without authorization, assaulted police personnel, and damaged official case records. Officials said strict action would be taken against all those involved, irrespective of their political stature, and announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident.
The Shiromani Akali Dal, however, rejected the allegations, claiming that the arrested individual, Jobanpreet Singh, was a party worker and polling agent during the recent civic body elections. The party alleged that he was unlawfully detained at the SHO's residence rather than being kept in a police lock-up and described the case as politically motivated and fabricated.
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Speaking to reporters outside Majithia's residence in Amritsar, Amritsar Rural Superintendent of Police Aditya Warrier said police teams were conducting searches to apprehend all individuals involved in Sunday's incident. "Majithia was not present at his residence when our teams arrived," Warrier said.
Responding to a question, he confirmed that an FIR had been registered in connection with the incident and added, "We had come to arrest Majithia."
Addressing a separate press conference, Amritsar (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Suhail Mir Qasim said that Jobanpreet Singh had been arrested on Sunday morning in connection with a case registered at Majitha police station on May 30.
"After his formal arrest, he was being questioned while in lawful police custody. During this period, an unlawful assembly gathered outside the police station. The crowd overpowered police personnel and forcibly entered the premises as part of a pre-planned conspiracy to free Jobanpreet," Qasim alleged.
According to the SSP, the entry into the police station was illegal and unauthorised. He claimed that Majithia was among those who entered the premises and that members of the group proceeded to search police station rooms without permission. "They reached the room where Jobanpreet was being questioned. Our officials resisted, but they did not listen. Case files stored there were also damaged," he said.
Qasim further alleged that the group forcibly removed Jobanpreet from the room despite the fact that he was under lawful police custody. He said the Station House Officer (SHO) and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Majitha, reached the spot to control the situation, but members of the crowd confronted them.
Asked whether Majithia was leading the crowd, Qasim said the SAD leader was part of the alleged unlawful assembly. Reacting strongly to the police action, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal described the case as an instance of political vendetta.
Party leaders alleged that Jobanpreet Singh, a SAD worker and polling agent during the recent municipal elections, was picked up from his residence in the early hours of Sunday and illegally detained at the local SHO's quarters instead of being lodged in a police lock-up.
Majithia and his supporters maintained that Jobanpreet had been implicated in a false case due to his political affiliation and role in the civic body elections. They further alleged that the police action was intended to target opposition workers.
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