CHANDIGARH, June 25:
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday arrested senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia for allegedly laundering more than Rs 540 crore of “drug money”.
Former Minister Majithia’s arrest came after a vigilance team conducted a raid at his residence in Amritsar.
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The Bureau claimed preliminary investigations revealed that more than Rs 540 crore of “drug money” has been laundered through several channels allegedly facilitated by Majithia.
A spokesperson of the Bureau said in a statement that assets, both movable and immovable, in the names of Majithia and his wife Ganieve Kaur Majithia increased substantially, for which no legitimate sources of income were provided.
Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, is already facing a probe in a 2021 drugs case.
During the raid, the vigilance team from Mohali faced protests by Majithia and his wife Ganieve Kaur, an Akali MLA, who accused the officers of barging into their house in Green Avenue on Wednesday morning.
Sukhbir Badal, his wife and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and many senior Akali leaders also lashed out at the AAP Government in Punjab over the raid at Majithia’s residence, calling it a “political vendetta”.
A similar raid was conducted at the couple’s Chandigarh residence as well, sources said.
Stating that a disproportionate assets case has been registered against her husband, Ganieve Kaur told reporters in Amritsar, “We will continue to fight. People will stand with Majithia.”
The raid was led by Swarandeep Singh, AIG, Flying Squad, Vigilance Bureau, Mohali, who was reinstated last month after a suspension.
Singh is also the complainant in the FIR registered against Majithia at 4:40 am on Wednesday.
The fresh FIR stems from an ongoing investigation being conducted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Punjab Police into the 2021 drug case registered against Majithia.
In March, the SIT claimed that it found “suspicious financial transactions” in firms linked to Majithia and his family.
The vigilance spokesperson said the probe by the SIT and the bureau revealed “massive laundering of drug money facilitated by Majithia amounting to more than Rs 540 crore”. (PTI)
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