23. Drug racket kingpin names Punjab minister of involvement in network

PTI : Chandigarh, Mon Jan 06 2014, 21:04 hrs

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. (IE: File Photo)

Alleged drug racket kingpin Jagdish Singh Bhola on Monday named a Punjab minister of being involved in the racket, as Congress trained its guns on the minister and demanded a CBI probe.

Bhola, a dismissed DSP of Punjab police, told media persons outside a court in Mohali that Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia was involved in the case, but police had hushed up the matter.

Although he had named Majithia during interrogations, Punjab police refused to include his name due to the Minister's relations with the Badal family, he said.

Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, denied the charge.

"Let me look into the allegtions. Only then I will comment," he said.

Congress hit out at ruling SAD and demanded Majithia's arrest and a CBI probe into the case.

"MPs and MLAs of ruling SAD are involved in drug trade... Earlier the name of sitting MP Rattan Singh Ajnala too had cropped up, but Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal gave him a clean chit immediately," Punjab Congress Chief Partap Singh Bajwa said.

Slamming the Punjab police, party spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira called it "a private army of the Badal-Majithia clan".

"Incompetence of the Punjab police to arrest the minister for involvement in drug trade, has vindicated allegations by Congress, that Punjab police stands politicised and is working as a private army of Badal-Majithia clan," he said.

Warning the state against "shielding the relative minister", he said Congress would approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Earlier at the court, Bhola alleged that the drug trade was being run under Majithia's patronage and claimed that the state police knew about it.

"When I was picked up by police, I told them about this and initially the investigations were slow," Bhola said.

He demanded that the case should be transferred to the CBI and then he will spill the beans.

Demanding for a case to be registered against Majithia, Bajwa said there was no doubt that the multi-crore drug racket could have been possible without the patronage of powerful politicians like him.

"Now that Bhola has publicly named Majithia for his involvement in the multi-crore drug racket, there is not an iota of doubt left that such large scale drug trafficking could have been possible without the patronage of powerful politicians like him," Bajwa said.

Responding to queries from reporters on Bhola's revelations of having links with ministers, Sukhbir asked, "Why is he saying it now (naming a Minister weeks after his arrest)? It seems lot of interests have come in."

On Congress' demand for CBI probe into the case, Sukhbir said some vested interests were now trying to tarnish the image of the government.

Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a notice to the Punjab government on a PIL in connection with the drug abuse and trafficking in the state.

The vacation bench of the HC comprising Justice Paramjit Singh asked it to respond by January 28 on the PIL submitted by former MP Jagmeet Singh Brar.

In his petition, Brar had contended that Chief Minister Badal had rejected a CBI inquiry and non-interference by any central agency and sought a direction to the government.