A dramatic face-off unfolded near Sukhna Lake on Tuesday after the Rupnagar police team from Punjab tried to arrest Jaipur resident Navneet Chaturvedi, accused of forging signatures of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs on nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha bypoll from Punjab.
According to sources, a Rupnagar police team led by SP Gurdeep Singh Gosal reached Chandigarh to arrest Chaturvedi, who had earlier filed two nominations for the Rajya Sabha—on October 6 and again on October 13—claiming to be the National President of the Janata Party. His nomination was later rejected during scrutiny after several AAP MLAs alleged that their names and signatures had been forged as proposers.
The situation turned tense when the Chandigarh Police, reportedly providing security to Chaturvedi, came face to face with the Punjab team near Sukhna Lake. A heated argument broke out between the officers of both forces before Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep Kaur reached the spot and escorted Chaturvedi to the Chandigarh Police Headquarters in Sector 9, where additional force was deployed outside.
The Punjab Police later said that FIRs had been registered in various districts after multiple AAP MLAs complained that their signatures were forged on the nomination papers filed by Chaturvedi before the Secretary of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. The MLAs said they came to know through social media that their names had been listed as proposers, even though they had not signed any such document.
A Punjab Police spokesperson confirmed that Navneet Chaturvedi, a resident of Jaipur, Rajasthan, is being booked for forgery, cheating, and criminal conspiracy for submitting falsified nomination papers before a constitutional authority. Investigations are underway to collect forensic and digital evidence and to identify others possibly involved.
Meanwhile, AAP leaders in Punjab, including state unit chief Aman Arora, alleged that the Chandigarh Police were obstructing the Punjab Police’s action, though UT police officials maintained that they were acting strictly as per legal procedure.
The controversy erupted after eight AAP MLAs, including Amritsar (North) MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, denied having signed as proposers for Chaturvedi’s nomination and wrote to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav and the Assembly Secretary, demanding action.
