The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave protection from arrest for five days to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Arjun Singh in “political cases” registered against him, ANI reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, Singh, who contested from the Barrackpore seat in West Bengal, told the court that he was implicated by the West Bengal Police. He claimed he was being prevented from being present during counting of votes on Thursday, The Times of India reported.
Senior lawyer Ranjeet Mishra told the Supreme Court that Singh feared arrest and was seeking direction for relief in the cases, ANI reported.
The Supreme Court took note of the violence in West Bengal during the Lok Sabha elections while agreeing to hear Singh’s plea.
On Sunday, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien had accused the BJP of indulging in violence in Bhatpara while claiming that Singh’s goons had attacked a Trinamool candidate, reported News18. “The BJP is resorting to a high level of violence in the Bhatpara Assembly bye-poll,” he had said in a statement. “This is dangerous for democracy. Goons of Arjun Singh have hurled bombs and even attacked the Trinamool candidate Shri Madan Mitra.”
Earlier this month, Singh had accused Trinamool Congress workers of assaulting him. Singh claimed that the Trinamool Congress had brought in people from outside the state to attack the Opposition. Singh, who was a Trinamool Congress MLA, joined the BJP in March.
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