/Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia presented himself before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Punjab Police in Patiala on Monday for questioning related to a drugs case.

The SIT, led by Additional Director General of Police Mukhwinder Singh Chhina, implemented stringent security measures around its office in anticipation of Majithia's appearance.

Accompanied by his legal counsel, Majithia arrived at the SIT office at approximately 11:45 am, emphasizing his identity as a law-abiding citizen with complete trust in the legal system.

SAD leader, however, did not refrain from pointing fingers at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Punjab Government, accusing them of exploiting the sensitive drugs issue for political gains.

He asserted that his summoning by the SIT was a direct consequence of his vocal criticism against the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. In a sharp turn of rhetoric, he further alleged that Mann was leveraging the state machinery to settle political scores.

Majithia’s legal ordeal stems from charges filed against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on December 20, 2021, during the tenure of the Charanjit Singh Channi-led government. The charges were instigated by a 2018 report from the anti-drug Special Task Force, leading to the filing of the FIR by the state Crime Branch at its Mohali police station.

Having spent more than five months in the confines of Patiala jail, Majithia secured his release in August of the previous year after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail in the drugs case.

The SAD leader asserted that the High Court's decision explicitly acknowledged the lack of substantial evidence against him. “While granting me bail, the High Court had said there was no evidence against me,” said Majithia, a former minister and the brother-in-law of Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal.