The FIR is based on a report by a Special Task Force appointed to curb drug abuse in Punjab. The task force had submitted its report in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Chandigarh: Former Punjab Minister and Akali Dal MLA Bikram Singh Majithia has been booked in connection with an earlier drugs case. Ahead of Punjab elections 2022, a development likely to raise the political temperature, the Punjab Police have reportedly lodged an FIR against Majithia under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu welcoming the development, tweeted saying, “After 5.5 Years of fight against Corrupt System run by Badal Family & Captain and delay of 4 years without action taken on ED & STF Report against Majithia. Finally now, after pushing for credible officers in positions of power and influence first step has been taken !!”
An FIR has been registered in Punjab Police Crime Branch against the main culprits of Drug Trade on basis of February 2018 STF report, wherein i demanded this 4 years ago - It is a slap on the face of all those powerful who slept for years on issues at the heart of Punjab’s soul
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp)The First Information Report (FIR) copy states that Mr Majithia has been accused of knowingly allowing drug smuggling through the use of his property or conveyance, financing the distribution or sale of drugs and criminal conspiracy for smuggling narcotics.
The FIR is based on a report by a Special Task Force appointed to curb drug abuse in Punjab. The task force had submitted its report in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Majithia, the brother-in-law of SAD president Sukhbir Badal, is a powerful figure and has wielded considerable clout in the previous Akali government. The Congress and other parties have long accused Majithia of having links with the state drug racket, an allegation that both Majithia and SAD have denied.
Meanwhile, former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal slammed the government and said, “We knew it very well. The government changed 3 DGPs (Directors General of Police) only to register a case against Badals and Majithia. I am ready to court arrest. They can come and arrest me.”
The Akali Dal leader, who has not yet commented on the FIR, has denied all allegations against him and said they are politically motivated. Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal too has come out strongly in defence of Mr Majithia in the past.