Punjab: Vigilance Bureau files 40,000-page chargesheet in DA case against SAD leader Majithia

Punjab: Vigilance Bureau files 40,000-page chargesheet in DA case against SAD leader Majithia

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Friday submitted a 40,000-page chargesheet in a Mohali court in the disproportionate assets (DA)case against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau had arrested Majithia on June 25 in the DA case allegedly involving laundering of Rs 540 crore of "drug money". On August 18, the Mohali court had dismissed the bail plea of Majithia, who is currently lodged in the New Nabha jail in Patiala.

The chargesheet was brought in four sealed trunks to the court. Public prosecutor Ferry Sofat said the chargesheet has been filed in the court.

The FIR against Majithia stems from an ongoing investigation being conducted by a Punjab Police special investigation team into the 2021 drug case.

The Vigilance Bureau, in the FIR registered against Majithia, had claimed preliminary investigations revealed that more than Rs 540 crore of "drug money" had been laundered through several ways and it was allegedly facilitated by Majithia.

In 2021, the SAD leader was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The action was taken on the basis of a 2018 report of the anti-drug Special Task Force.

Majithia spent more than five months in Patiala jail and walked out of prison in August 2022 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail.

On July 6, Majithia was sent to judicial custody. His judicial remand was extended on July 19 and then on August 2.

On August 14, the court had extended Majithia's judicial custody till August 28.