Former Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Sidharth Chattopadhyaya on Friday claimed there is “100% proof” linking Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia to drug traffickers. He said previous state governments, both Congress and SAD-BJP, ignored strong evidence and failed to take action.
Speaking to the media after giving his statement to the Vigilance Bureau in a disproportionate assets case against Majithia, Chattopadhyaya revealed that his investigation reports had clearly pointed to Majithia’s connections with drug networks. However, he noted that the money laundering angle—now being probed by the Vigilance Bureau—was not part of his earlier findings. “I had recommended further investigation into the money trail,” he said.
Majithia was arrested from his Amritsar residence two days ago and was sent to seven days of Vigilance custody on Thursday. He is accused of laundering ₹540 crore of drug money and accumulating wealth far beyond his known sources of income.
Chattopadhyaya also said drug trafficking in Punjab involved a broader network, including tainted officers like AIG Raj Jit Singh, who is yet to be arrested, and Inspector Inderjit Singh, currently in jail.
The former DGP had led the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed in 2017 by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to probe links between police officers and drug smugglers. While the court wanted a focused probe into Inspector Inderjit Singh and his superior Raj Jit Singh, Chattopadhyaya expanded the investigation and submitted a separate report in his personal capacity.
That personal report later sparked controversy, with former DGPs Suresh Arora and Dinkar Gupta opposing its disclosure. They argued it went beyond the court’s mandate and was driven by Chattopadhyaya’s own ambitions. In 2023, the High Court dismissed his individual report for not being a collective SIT submission. Despite this, his findings had significant impact—leading to the dismissal and prosecution of AIG Raj Jit Singh.
Former ED Official to Record Statement
In another key development, former Enforcement Directorate (ED) Deputy Director Niranjan Singh will appear before the Vigilance Bureau in Mohali on Saturday. His investigation led to the registration of a drug case against Majithia in December 2021.
“I was transferred out of Punjab due to political pressure,” Singh said, adding that drug trafficker Jagdish Bhola had named Majithia during interrogation. Singh said he would share whatever details he could recall from the case, as all official records remain with the ED office in Jalandhar.
The investigation, which initially began with questioning 102 individuals, is now expected to widen with both Chattopadhyaya and Niranjan Singh’s inputs, possibly revealing more names from the political and police circles.
Be the first to comment