Ludhiana, Dec. 25 -- In a stinging order that has put the Ludhiana police on the defensive, a local court has held the arrest of Congress leader Inderjit Singh, alias Indi, illegal, citing serious procedural lapses that, it said, strike at the very root of the prosecution's case. Indi, a close associate of former cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and husband of Congress councillor Parminder Kaur from Ward No. 61, was arrested by the Division Number 8 police on December 20 on charges of attempt to murder and obstructing a civic body employee from performing official duty.

While hearing the police application seeking custodial remand, the court recorded that Indi was picked up from his residence around 9.15 am on December 20, even thoug...