Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) faced Opposition fire on Friday after high drama over Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga’s arrest by Punjab Police from his home this morning.

But before bringing him to Punjab, the state police was stopped by the Haryana Police in Kurukshetra on the basis of an alert issued by the Delhi Police after Bagga’s father registered a kidnapping case in Delhi. Bagga was then taken back to the national capital by Delhi Police.

While the Opposition accused the ruling AAP of misusing the state police for political vendetta, the Punjab Police maintained Bagga was booked on 1 April on a complaint of causing instigation, incitement and criminal intimidation by making, publishing provocative, false and communal inflammatory statements through his interview given to media and through his posts on Twitter.

The Punjab Police said Bagga was served five notices between 9 April and 28 April but he did not appear before the investigating team . Following this, “in accordance with law”, a police party was sent to arrest the accused (Bagga) which arrested him from his Delhi residence this morning.

The Punjab Police said the police party was stopped by Haryana Police on Karnal-Kurukshetra highway which is “tentamounts to illegal detention and interference in administration of criminal justice system”.

Meanwhile, Bagga’s arrest by Punjab Police in Delhi sparked a controversy in the state with the Opposition parties accusing the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of misusing the state police for political vendetta.

“Tajinder Bagga could be from a different party, one could have ideological differences. But the political vendetta of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, to settle personal scores through Punjab police is a cardinal sin… Stop tarnishing the image of Punjab Police by politicising it,” former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu said in a tweet.

The Leader of Opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa said the Punjab CM should not misuse the state police. The Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said it was the “saddest day” for Punjab Police.

The Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said “badlav” (change) doesn’t mean misusing police to target political opponents.

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said it is a criminal act of Kejriwal to which Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann is playing a meek second fiddle.

Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh asked the Punjab Police not to succumb to the dictatorial diktats of an outsider. “Remember, Arvind Kejriwal is not your Chief Minister and you are not there to do his bidding”, he said.