The Union Home Ministry has issued a lookout circular against former Punjab minister and senior Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia who was booked under the anti-drug trafficking NDPS Act by the State police. The lookout circular, which prevents a person from leaving the country, was issued on the request of the Punjab police.
The Bureau of Immigration under the Home Ministry sent the copy of the notice to Punjab’s Additional Director General of Police (Counter Intelligence), Internal Security in Mohali. ‘’This LOC shall remain in force until and unless a deletion request is received by BOI from the originator itself,” it read.
The State police have been looking for the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader to arrest him. On Monday, Majithia, 46, was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act on the basis of a 2018 status report of a probe into a drug racket. The report was filed by the anti-drug special task force (STF) chief Harpreet Singh Sidhu with the Punjab and Haryana High Court that year.
The Congress Government’s move ahead of the assembly elections early next year has provoked accusations of “political vendetta” by the Akali Dal. Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu had been urging action by the Charanjit Singh Channi Government against Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and brother of former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
Majithia had earlier denied all charges against him. The 49-page FIR was registered by the state Crime Branch at its Mohali police station.
The NDPS sections mentioned in the FIR include 25 (punishment for allowing one’s premises for the commission of an offence), 27A (punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders) and 29 (punishment for abetting or plotting an offence). The FIR noted that the legal opinion of Punjab’s advocate general too was taken before registering it.
AMARINDER AS CM CONNIVED WITH NDA TO SHIELD MAJITHIA, ALLEGES SIDHU
Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday Reacting to the case registered against SAD leader and his arch-rival Bikram Singh Majithia under the NDPS Act, launched a scathing attack on his bête noire Amarinder and former chief minister Amarinder Singh.
“Amarinder as CM, in connivance with the NDA government, shielded Majithia. He befooled the people of Punjab by wrongly saying that the drug investigation report was with the high court in a sealed cover; whereas in 2018, the high court had handed over the report to him and asked him to take action as per the law, but in vain. His actions were evident of him being in connivance with the NDA government (the SAD was in alliance with the BJP then) while being the CM of Punjab and giving protection to Majithia. This showed that he had taken a false oath to eradicate drug mafia just for political gains,” said Sidhu.
Sidhu further alleged that during Capt Amarinder’s government, honest and sincere officers were removed and tainted ones acted as his puppets. “I believe that my resignation has been justified today. Let the law take its own course,” he said. “Captain Amarinder, High Court gave STF report to you on 1 Feb 2018 with direction to proceed as per law. Today you are defending Majithia, teaming with Badals and openly fooling people of Punjab by saying that report is only with HC in sealed cover hence action cant be taken on it,” said Sidhu, in a micro-blogging website Koo.
“Natha Singh & Prem Singh One & same thing !! Vote for Akalis is vote for Captain and Vote for Captain is Vote for Akalis !! I have been fighting this 75-25 system in public domain and in the closed rooms of Cabinet, since 2016,” he added.
He urged the people of Punjab to see through the smokescreen created by the AAP, Capt Amarinder and the NDA Government, benefiting Majithia and with the intention of exploiting Punjab and its resources. He asked the people of Punjab to make an informed decision and help bring the change in the state that they wanted.
SAD DEMANDS TO MAKE PUBLIC INQUIRIES DONE AT HC’S INSTANCE IN DRUGS CASE
Charging the Congress Government of using the ‘personal opinion’ of a police officer who was related to former Minister Bikram Majithia and had an axe to grind with him to register a FIR against the latter, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday demanded that inquiries done at the instance of the High Court, subsequent to the report submitted by STF head Harpreet Sidhu, be made public.
SAD spokesman Parambans Singh Romana, addressing the media, also released STF chief and ADGP Harpreet Sidhu’s “admission” that he was related to Majithia but not on speaking terms with Majithia’s family since 15 years. “Despite this, the fabricated FIR registered against Majithia had relied on Sidhu’s report which the latter himself admitted was an opinion and not an investigation. The officer has admitted that he based his report on the record of the Enforcement Directorate,” said Romana adding that if that is so, the ED was competent to file a challan against Majithia in case they had found anything incriminating against him, but they did not.
Romana also said that the trial in the case which Sidhu was referring to — that is the Jagdish Bhola case — had ended in January 2019.
“Even convictions were done in the case with Bhola and one Jagjit Chahal being convicted even as the third accused Bittu Aulakh was acquitted,” he said adding that despite this factual position, Sidhu’s report stated that Bittu Aulakh was instrumental in making the accused persons meet Majithia.