ED quizzes Punjab minister in synthetic drug racket case

Punjab Cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia was questioned for over four hours on Friday by a team of senior Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in connection with alleged money laundering in the Rs 6,000-crore synthetic drug racket case unearthed in the state last year.

The minister, brother of Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and brother-in-law of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, was confronted at the ED's Jalandhar office with a 50-point questionnaire. The team, led by ED Special Director Karnal Singh, had three members from New Delhi. Majithia, who reached the venue ahead of schedule, denied all allegations during questioning.

He was asked about details of his bank accounts, assets and foreign visits, among other things.  

Majithia’s name cropped up in the case in January this year when the racket's kingpin, wrestler and dismissed Punjab cop Jagdish Bhola, told mediapersons while being taken to court that Majithia knew those involved.  The ED is trying to ascertain the veracity of the charges levelled by Bhola and Amritsar-based businessman Jagjit Singh Chahal, also an accused in the case.

Both had allegedly said during interrogation that the minister knew drug dealers based in Canada. Chahal had purportedly said Canada-based dealers Satta and Pindi were close to Majithia, and were given gunmen. He also said the two were present at the minister's wedding in November 2009.

The ED’s move to question Majithia has snowballed into a major controversy, with even the BJP, an ally of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), seeking his resignation. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists on Friday protested outside the ED office in Jalandhar reiterating this demand. They accused Chief Minister Parkash singh Badal of protecting Majithia.