The Nawanshahr police have filed a fresh FIR against Arvinder Singh, a Sikh youth who was sentenced to life imprisonment for waging war against state on February 5. The fresh FIR, under Arms Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), was registered on February 7 at Balachaur Police station against four accused including Arvinder, who was taken on police remand on February 9 for a week.
According to FIR, one Gurdeep Singh, who was arrested by police on January 17, 2019 under NDPS Act, told police that Arvinder alias Mittha Singh of Pallian Khurad village had helped him to get a pistol and six live cartridges from Delhi for carrying out Babbar Khalsa work and for taking revenge of desecration incidents in two Nawanshahr villages.
“Police claim falls flat here as both these sacrileges were committed in January 2017 and June 2018, while Arvinder is in jail since May 25, 2016 and he had never come out of jail either on bail or on parole and lodged in high secuirity Nabha jail,” said senior advocate Rajwinder Singh Bains, who is filing appeal in Arvinder’s case in High Court. He added that if Arvinder is in jail then police should make it clear where Gurdeep met him.
Meanwhile, Balachaur DSP Rajpal Singh refused to comment on the matter. The other two accused in the FIR are Jaspreet and Harshdeep.
The FIR says that Arvinder called Gurdeep on WhatsApp and told him to go to Delhi to collect money and weapon.
Meanwhile in Chandigarh, president of Punjabi Ekta Party Sukhpal Singh Khaira Tuesday hit out at Nawanshahar police for allegedly framing Arvinder, pointing out that he was lodged in jail during the period of crime registered in the FIR.
Khaira said that at the time of arrest of the three Sikh youths, no arms were recovered from them. “Now after their conviction and coming under fire for the frivolous grounds of conviction, the police has registered a fresh case under Arms Act against Arvinder Singh.”
Khaira said that police has concocted the story to frame up the Sikh youth in false case to strengthen its previous case of sedition in which Arvinder and two others have been convicted
Surjit Singh (27), Arvinder Singh (29) and Ranjit Singh (29) were held guilty based on books, literature, pamphlets that were recovered from them following their arrest in 2016.
(With inputs from ENS Chandigarh)
