Mohali, May 19 -- A local court on Monday declared the arrest of Youth Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Dakha constituency in-charge Jaskaranjit Singh illegal in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case and ordered his immediate release. During the hearing of the petition challenging the arrest, defence counsel HS Dhanoa argued that the Mataur police had arrested Jaskaranjit from Ludhiana without informing him of the reasons and legal grounds. The court observed that compliance with legal procedure remains mandatory irrespective of the seriousness of allegations against an accused and directed the authorities to release Jaskaranjit immediately. The Youth Akali Dal leader was arrested in Ludhiana on Sunday for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl repeatedly. According to the case registered on May 13, the victim's father stated that the accused came in contact with the family in 2023 and, over the years, sexually assaulted the minor several times. The girl alleged that he threatened to evict her and her mother if she disclosed the incident. The girl had narrated her ordeal to her mother, who confronted the accused. But the accused allegedly thrashed the girl and forced her to sign sheets of paper. The FIR further mentioned that the next morning, Deol locked himself inside the minor's room and thrashed her again. When the girl threatened to commit suicide by jumping from the balcony, Deol allegedly threatened to drown her in the Sirhind Canal or hire Canada-based gangsters to execute her within 24 hours if she exposed him. Later, she went to her father's house and informed him about the assault. He has been booked under Sections 64 (rape), 65(1) (rape of a minor) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 6 of the POCSO Act....