Simarjeet Bains’ arrest, just two weeks before polling, set to derail his campaign
The two-time MLA, who is again trying his luck from the Atam Nagar constituency, was arrested from the Ludhiana court complex on Tuesday over his involvement in a group clash on Monday
The arrest of Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) chief and sitting Atam Nagar MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains, around two weeks before polling on February 20, is expected to hit his election campaign, especially with the opposition losing no time to target him for encouraging hooliganism and violence in the assembly segment.
The two-time MLA, who is again trying his luck from the Atam Nagar constituency, was arrested from the Ludhiana court complex on Tuesday over his involvement in a group clash on Monday in which three supporters of Atam Nagar Congress candidate Kamaljit Singh Karwal were injured.
Following his arrest, Bains’ office in Kot Mangal Singh area wore a deserted look, with only few supporters still there, though they said that his team, including supporters and family members, were conducting election meetings in different parts of the constituency.
With Bains expected to stay in police custody for some days until he secures bail from court, his absence is set to derail his campaign in the coming days when the election scene will heat up further.
President of the District Bar Association, Gurkirpal Singh Gill said Bains will be produced in court on Wednesday. But as far as bail was concerned, it differed from case to case and was also dependent on the court’s discretion.
Meanwhile, in a video doing the rounds of social media, Simarjeet’s elder brother and Ludhiana South MLA Balwinder Singh Bains said his brother was arrested to stop them from campaigning. “People, who were not even at the spot, have also been booked falsely on the directions of the Congress. But the LIP campaign will go on with the public’s support,” he added.
Opposition hails police action
Hailing the police action against Bains, the opposition also demanded that the Election Commission of India depute additional force in the constituency to prevent any untoward incident before the February 20 elections.
SAD-BSP candidate Harish Rai Dhanda said Bains had been encouraging violence in the constituency, rather than focusing on its development. He appealed to the public to elect a candidate with a clean image.
Dhanda, who is also the legal counsel of the woman, who has accused Bains of rape, said they were pursuing the case in Supreme Court and will make sure that Bains was arrested in that case as well.
On February 3, the apex court had given relief to Bains by extending his protection from arrest for a week.
Terming both Bains and Karwal as “gundas”, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from Atam Nagar Kulwant Sidhu rapped them encouraging violence and hooliganism in the assembly segment for a long time.
He said law had finally taken its course with Bains’ arrest and soon Karwal will also have to face the consequences. He also appealed to the public to choose a candidate with a clean image this time, so that the constituency could see development.
Arrest before elections may elicit sympathy: Karwal
On the other hand, Congress candidate Karwal, whose supporters were injured in the Monday attack, said Bains’ arrest before the elections might attract undeserved sympathy votes for him.
“The police arrested Bains to avoid any other untoward incident ahead of polling, but I wish that Bains is released soon so that we can fight the elections in a face-to-face contest and the public can decide fairly,” said Karwal.