FRIDKOT, Punjab—A day after the election campaign in Haryana, the Faridkot high officials on Tuesday accepted the bail bonds of Sikh preacher and Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal and his two aides.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shruti Sharma Pandey accepted the bonds of Baba Daduwal and his supporters Harjinder Singh and Randhir Singh for Rs 50,000 each. She ordered their release from preventive detention in Central Jail, Faridkot.
While addressing the media persons outside the jail, Baba Daduwal claimed the main aim behind detaining him was to prevent him from campaigning against the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) candidate from Mandi Kallianwali in Haryana. He claimed there is a considerable number of his followers in several villages in Sirsa district (Haryana) who were part of Kallianwali constituency.
He said, “It is a political vendetta. I was arrested on frivolous grounds. The SAD (B) leaders were miffed when they got to know I will campaign against their candidate,” asking, “How can my release coincide with the culmination of campaign in Haryana?”
Baba Daduwal and his two supporters, on October 9, were re-arrested moments after their release on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. They were held under Section 107/151 of the CrPC (preventive detention).
