Senior Akali Dal leader Parambans Singh Bunty Romana denied entry to Canada, sent back

Parambans Singh Bunty Romana, senior vice-president and national spokesperson of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), is returning to India after being denied entry to Canada, allegedly because he did not have police clearance. Romana was to tour the country for 10 to 12 days on an NRI outreach programme.

Sources said the senior SAD leader, who has been named in several police cases, did not obtain the required police clearance before travelling to Canada, and this led immigration authorities at Toronto airport to deny him the entry. Romana’s legal counsel, however, denied the allegations.

Romana was leading a 12-member delegation, including ex-MLA Kanwarjit Singh Rozy Barkandi and party leader Raju Khanna, and was the only one who was denied entry. He has visited Canada before as well, but this is the first time he has been turned back.

Romana late evening while talking to the mediapersons said that somone from Manila had filed a complaint with the Canadian immigration authorities about the FIRs filed against him.

“I had taken due permission from the court before coming to Canada. However despite the fact someone filed a complaint against me. Canadian immigration authorities later allowed me to visit Canada but asked me to give an undertaking that I cannot attend any political programmes. However, without that, I had no purpose to visit Canada as I was leading the delegation. Hence, I chose to come back to India voluntarily in those circumstances,” he said. Romana alleged that it was a politically motivated complaint.

Last month, Romana was booked after he allegedly obstructed the municipal polls nomination process at the Faridkot sub-divisional magistrate’s office. On May 21, an FIR was lodged against him for allegedly obstructing government officials from performing their duties. On June 2, Romana got interim bail in the case.

“He has been cooperating in the police investigation. He had taken due permission from the Faridkot court before travelling to Canada. False information is being spread by political rivals that he did not take police clearance before leaving the country,” Shivkartar Singh, Romana’s counsel, said.

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In October 2023, a case was lodged against Romana in Mohali for posting a morphed video on social media targeting Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann.

Senior SAD leader Daljeet Singh Cheema late in the evening said that a delegation of the party went to Canada to “meet diaspora, support our struggling students, and keep the next generation connected to Punjab’s history and culture”.

“We deeply respect Canada’s sovereignty and have absolutely no intent to interfere in any nation’s internal affairs. Our politics is about people and not about geopolitics. The panic-driven misinformation campaign by the AAP and our other political opponents against this visit only exposes how threatened they feel by the SAD’s growing connect with the Punjabi diaspora worldwide. Punjab’s voice deserves to be heard with dignity, not distortion,” he added.

2012-2022: Cases against Romana

In the 2022 Assembly elections, Romana contested from the Faridkot constituency and lost to AAP’s Gurdit Singh Sekhon by over 16,000 votes. According to the affidavit he filed during the 2022 elections, five cases remain pending against him.

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One of the cases was registered at Mataur police station on June 7, 2021, in Mohali, under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with Section 51(a) (obstructing government officials or authorised personnel from performing their duties during a disaster) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. No charges have been framed, and no appeal has been filed in this case.

Another case was registered at the Civil Lines police station in Patiala on July 6, 2020, under sections 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation), 188, 269, 270, and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC along with Section 51(a) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The chargesheet has not yet been presented in court. Both cases were registered during the Covid-19 period for protests against the ruling Congress government in the state.

Another First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the City police station in Faridkot on January 9, 2017, under sections 171F (punishment for undue influence or personation), 188, and 283 of the IPC. The matter is pending before the court.

The fourth FIR was registered at Baghapurana police station in Moga district under sections 431 (mischief by injury to public road, bridge, river or channel), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 283, 147 (punishment for rioting), 149, and 188 of the IPC during rural polls under the Congress government’s rule. The case is pending before the court.

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The fifth FIR was lodged in 2012 for a protest against the then UPA government at the Parliament Street police station in Delhi.