Chandigarh: A court in Punjab’s Mohali district on Thursday sent senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who was arrested by vigilance bureau (VB) on Wednesday for allegedly laundering over Rs 540 crore of ``drug money’’, to a seven day VB remand.
The VB had arrested Majithia from his Amritsar house on Wednesday and brought him to Mohali, last evening.
Talking to newspersons outside court, the VB counsel Ferry Sofat said that the VB had demanded a 12-day remand while the court granted a seven-day remand and Majithia will now be produced before the court on July 2. The VB counsel said that the court was also informed that Majithia allegedly ``threatened’’ the VB team when it raided his residence in Amritsar.
Even as the Punjab police detained several SAD supporters who had gathered around the judicial complex and protested against former minister Majithia’s arrest, the police had made elaborate security arrangements around the court.
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Stating that Majithia has been booked in a disproportionate assets case, the VB claimed that its preliminary probe revealed that more than Rs 540 crore of drug money was allegedly laundered through different channels allegedly facilitated by Majithia.
The party spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler held that the FIR against Majithia was ``bogus’’ and the SAD leader was being targeted for raising people’s issues against the ruling chief minister Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
It may be recalled that Majithia, who is brother-in-law of the SAD chief Sukhbir Badal, is already facing a drug case registered against him in 2021 and the fresh DA case stems from the ongoing probe by the special investigation team (SIT) into that drug case.
According to official information, the SIT probe and the VB have revealed ``massive laundering of drug money facilitated by Majithia’’. According to prosecution, Majithia’s income of over Rs 540 crore remains undisclosed and he failed to give any details about the same so far.
