(MENAFN- IANS) Chandigarh, Oct 15 (IANS) A day after a confrontation between Chandigarh Police and Punjab Police over the custody, Janata Party president Navneet Chaturvedi, who allegedly forged the signature of legislators on nomination papers for the lone Rajya Sabha seat, on Wednesday moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking protection from his arrest in the criminal case registered against him.

In the petition, Chaturvedi sought protection from arrest for 10 days and directions to the Punjab Police to produce the first information report (FIR) registered against him before the court. He also alleged attempts to abduct him by the Punjab Police on Tuesday.

Punjab Police have also moved a petition in the high court seeking his custody. After the FIR was registered in Ropar, a Punjab Police team went to Chandigarh to arrest him, but the Chandigarh Police took him into their custody.

Punjab Police on Monday reportedly registered multiple FIRs after several Aam Aadmi Party MLAs alleged that their signatures were forged on nomination papers submitted by Chaturvedi, who claims to be the national president of the Janata Party for the Rajya Sabha bypoll.

Advocate General Maninderjit Singh Bedi and Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla sought transfer of custody of the accused to the Punjab Police, and initiation of contempt and departmental action against the officials responsible for defiance of court orders.

The Punjab Police have initiated legal action following receipt of complaints from sitting Members of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha (MLAs) regarding the alleged forgery of their signatures on nomination papers submitted by Chaturvedi.

A spokesperson for Punjab Police on Monday said the complainant MLAs have stated that they received messages and social media posts indicating that their names had been mentioned as proposers in the nomination papers filed by Chaturvedi before the Secretary of the Vidhan Sabha. Chaturvedi has filed two nominations, one on October 6 and another on October 13.

In their complaint, MLAs stated that it was found that a handwritten list of proposers, purportedly bearing the signatures of these MLAs, had been attached to the nomination papers, and the same was being circulated on digital platforms.

The MLAs have categorically denied having signed or supported the said nomination, and have alleged that their names and signatures were forged and fraudulently used without consent.

The forged documents, submitted before a constitutional authority, constitute a serious offence involving forgery, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. Based on these complaints, FIRs have been registered at different police stations in the constituencies of the complainant MLAs against said Chaturvedi.

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