The Punjab Vigilance Bureau Monday took Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia to Himachal Pradesh in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case registered against the former minister, said sources. Bikram Singh Majithia (HT File)

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on June 25 arrested Majithia in a disproportionate assets case allegedly involving laundering of ₹540 crore of “drug money”.

Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, is learnt to have been taken to Mashobra in Himachal Pradesh for verification of property allegedly linked to his family.

Though Majithia does not own any property in Himachal, his wife Ganieve Kaur Majithia, an Akali MLA, owns a residential property in the hill state, according to an election affidavit.

Following his arrest, Majithia was sent to a seven-day vigilance remand on June 26. He will be produced before a Mohali court on July 2.

On Monday, former Akali leader Maninder Singh Aulakh, also known as Bittu Aulakh, who is now with the BJP, and Amritsar-based businessman Jagjit Singh Chahal recorded their statements against Majithia at the vigilance office in Sector 68, Mohali.

Speaking to the media after his deposition, Aulakh said the case dates back to 2013 and alleged that law enforcement failed to act decisively at the time. “Had the police investigated properly then, the truth would have come out much earlier. We even demanded a CBI probe,” he said.

Aulakh added that investigators questioned him about financial transactions, benami properties and any joint assets with Majithia, all of which he denied. He called for the questioning of former SSP Hardayal Mann to shed light on the matter and accused former ED deputy director Niranjan Singh of bias in the earlier probe.

“If anyone is involved in drug trafficking, they should be punished. But innocent people like me and Chahal have been falsely implicated. Our children’s futures have been ruined and Chahal’s parents suffered immensely,” he said.

Clarifying his past association with Majithia, Aulakh said they had cordial ties until 2010 but never owned any property together.

Chahal, who owns three pharmaceutical companies in Himachal Pradesh — MBP Pharmaceuticals and Montek Bio Pharma in Baddi, and Tulip Formulations in Damtal — echoed Aulakh’s concerns. He said the investigation finally appears to be moving in the right direction.

“Until now, it was all political drama. Five or six SITs were formed over the years, but none took the case seriously. For the first time, officials seem determined to uncover the truth,” Chahal said.

He reiterated his opposition to drug trafficking and called on chief minister Bhagwant Mann to initiate a thorough probe into the 2013 drug racket. “If we are guilty, we are ready to face the consequences,” he added.

Both Aulakh and Chahal were arrested in 2015 for their alleged roles in the Bhola drug cartel but were acquitted of all charges by a CBI court in Mohali in 2019.

Over the past five days, the vigilance bureau has also recorded statements from former Punjab DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, former ED deputy director Niranjan Singh and former MLA Amarpal Singh ‘Bonny’ Ajnala.

In the fresh FIR registered against Majithia, the bureau claimed preliminary investigations revealed that more than ₹540 crore of “drug money” has been laundered through several ways and it was allegedly facilitated by Majithia.

This FIR against Majithia stems from an ongoing investigation being conducted by a Punjab Police special investigation team into the 2021 drug case. In 2021, Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The action was taken on the basis of a 2018 report of the anti-drug special task force.

Majithia spent more than five months in Patiala jail and walked out of prison in August 2022 after the Punjab and Haryana high court granted him bail.

Cheema slams oppn leaders for trying to ‘shield’ Majithia

Chandigarh Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema Monday hit out at opposition leaders for trying to ‘shield’ SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia after he was arrested in a disproportionate assets case, saying it has exposed their ‘double standards’. Addressing the media here, Cheema also played video clips of some opposition leaders in which they had been criticising Majithia over the drug issue.

“From 2007 to 2017, Punjab witnessed an alarming rise in drug trafficking and the spread of substances like ‘chitta’ (synthetic drugs), heroin, and smack. This dark period in our state’s history, marked by the blatant drug trade, is indelibly linked to the rule of the Akali-BJP government,” he alleged.

“Key opposition leaders had previously called for action against Majithia, yet today, they are attempting to shield him,” the minister said adding that Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa, who had promised to take action against Majithia and others in 2016, has now reversed his stance and defended him.

“Congress leaders like Sukhpal Singh Khaira and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who had at one point criticised Majithia, are now backtracking. This is nothing but opportunism and betrayal of the people of Punjab,” Cheema added. (With inputs from PTI)