Former Punjab minister and senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia was booked under the NDPS Act, accusing his party of political vendetta. A case was registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on the basis of the 2018 Status Report of the Investigation of Drug Rackets in the State.
The report was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2018 by Harpreet Singh Sidhu, chief of the Anti-Drug Special Task Force (STF). Majithia, (46), is the brother-in-law of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir. Singh is the brother of Badal and former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Majithia had earlier denied all the allegations against him.
Meanwhile, it is learned that the police is on the lookout for Majithia to arrest him. Sources said that a special investigation team under the leadership of Deputy Inspector General (Crime) has also been constituted in this regard. However, the opposition SAD termed the move as a political vendetta. The 49-page FIR was registered by the state crime branch at the Mohali police station under various sections of the NDPS Act.
Sections 25 (punishment for allowing any one’s premises to be used for commission of offence), 27A (sale, purchase, production, manufacture, possession, transport, use or consumption, import and export or any act related funding). narcotics) and 29 (for abetting or conspiring to commit an offence). The FIR states that before registering it, the legal opinion of the Advocate General of Punjab was also taken.
On the basis of the status report of the STF with the opinion of the Advocate General, a cognizable offense is made out and hence a case is registered and investigation is done, the FIR mentioned. The FIR states that the matter will be probed by a special investigation team for which separate orders are being issued. All relevant aspects and evidence can be thoroughly examined and the investigation can be completed expeditiously as per the facts and law.
The STF report pending with the High Court was based on the confessions given by some of the accused, including Jagjit Singh Chahal, Jagdish Singh Bhola and Maninder Singh Aulakh, in the 2013 multi-crore drug racket case submitted to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Majithia was also questioned by the ED in this case in December 2014 when he was a minister in the Akali government.
The FIR states that as per the findings, prima facie there is sufficient evidence to investigate the role of Mr. Bikram Singh Majithia with respect to the allegations made in the application under investigation. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said that the state government was committed to take legal action against drug smugglers and bring justice to Punjabis.
Today, on the basis of the report of the STF, the first step has been taken in the crime branch of Mohali against Bikram Singh Majithia to get justice for all of them (drug victims in the state). Punjab and Haryana High Court orders,” he said in a tweet.
Majithia was elected to the assembly in 2007, 2012 and 2017 and remained minister of water supply and sanitation, information and public relations, science, technology, environment, revenue, NRI affairs and non-conventional energy.
Reacting to the development, former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said that it will not stand legal scrutiny as the government has not followed due process of law. Speaking to reporters in Muktsar, SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal said, “We already knew it.” He said the Congress government changed three state police chiefs to book and arrest Badal and Majithia.
“Take me wherever you want, I am ready. Any government that indulges in this vendetta has to face consequences,” Badal, the five-time Punjab chief minister, said. He added that the job of the government is to serve the people. Not indulging in political vendetta.
AAP leader Raghav Chadha termed the registration of the FIR against Majithia as an election stunt of the ruling Congress. He said he had earlier said that an agreement has been reached between SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to arrest Majithia on the basis of a weak case.
Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, in a series of tweets, hailed the development, claiming that it was possible because of his five-year-long battle with the Badal family and the corrupt system run by the captain and a four-year delay. Found. Inaction on the report of ED and STF against Majithia He termed the registration of FIR as a slap on the face of all those powerful people who slept in the heart of the soul of Punjab for years. Punjab Congress chief Charanjit Singh Channi has been pressurizing the government to take action against the big fish involved in the drug racket.
A few days back, the Channi government was emboldened when a letter by Additional Director General of Police SK Asthana to the then state police chief Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota surfaced on social media. Asthana had cited certain legal hurdles in re-investigation in drug cases against Majithia.
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