CHANDIGARH – The Punjab Congress today sought the dismissal of state Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia from the Cabinet. It reiterated the demand for a CBI probe into the Rs 6,000 drug racket in the state in the light of “new evidence” in the case.
Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa said Majithia’s name had appeared in the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate in the Patiala court. The chargesheet also carried the confessional statement of one of the accused, Jagjit Singh Chahal, that he had paid Rs 35 lakh to the minister at his home in Amritsar as election fund between 2007 and 2012.
Bajwa also referred to the disclosures by the another accused Manjinder Singh Bittu Aulakh, stating that Majithia had introduced him to his NRI friend Satta who, along with two more NRIs was part of the drug racket. “They stayed at Majithia’s residence and used his vehicles and security,” Bajwa said.
The PPCC chief pointed out that Chahal had confessed that Majithia had asked him to sell pseudoepherdine, used for manufacturing synthetic drug ICE, to Satta.
Bajwa reiterated that the probe into the racket be handed over to the CBI as he feared that Majithia would be let off the hook as his sister (Harsimrat Badal) was a central minister.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is questioning 104 accused in the Bhola drug case, especially their role in money-laundering. Besides, 55 suspects are being quizzed by ED teams to ascertain their involvement in the international drug racket. The ED has submitted a chargesheet against 12 accused and a foreign exchange firm in the Patiala court. They are:
Anup Singh Kahlon, 44
A resident of Shivalik Vihar, Zirakpur, Mohali, he is lodged in the maximum security Nabha jail.
Manpreet Singh, 37
A resident of Dala village in Moga district, he is lodheg in the Nabha jail and lodged in New Jail, Nabha.
Sukhjit Singh, 44
A resident of Soos village in Hoshiarpur district, he was arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA (Prevention of Money-Laundering Act), 2002. He is lodged in the Nabha jail.
Bittu Aulakh, 42
A resident of Rani Ka Bagh, Amritsar, he was arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002. He is lodged in the New Jail, Nabha.
Varinder Singh Raja, 34
A resident of Vikas Puri, New Delhi, he was arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002 and is lodged in the Patiala Central Jail.
Harpreet Singh, 42
A resident of Banwala, Patran,Patiala district. He was not arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.
Devinder Singh
A resident of 736, Lehra Mohabbat Thermal Power Plant Colony, Bathinda.
Gurdip S Manchanda, 63
A resident of Sector 33-A, Chandigarh, he was arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002. A money changer, is out on bail.
Ankur Bajaj, 29
A resident of Sector 35-C, Chandigarh, he is a money-changer. He was not arrested by the ED.
Sunil Bajaj, 54
A resident of Sector 35-C, Chandigarh, he is a money-changer. He was not arrested by the ED.
Subhash Bajaj, 59
A resident of Sector 35-D, he is a money-changer. He was not arrested by the ED.
M/S Bajaj Foreign Exchange Pvt. Ltd
Booth No. 324, Sector 35-D, Chandigarh
