CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia in the assets beyond means case. Majithia was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on June 25 in a money laundering investigation linked to alleged “drug money” amounting to Rs 540 crore.
Special Public Prosecutor Pheri Sofat said the court of Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya rejected the bail plea due to the gravity of the allegations. Earlier, a Mohali court had also dismissed Majithia’s request for bail. He is currently lodged in Patiala’s New Nabha Jail. Majithia has described the case as political vendetta.
Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 2021, following a 2018 report submitted by the Special Task Force on Narcotics. The Vigilance Bureau said preliminary findings indicate that more than Rs 540 crore of alleged drug money was laundered through multiple channels.
After registering the FIR, the Vigilance Bureau filed a 40,000-page chargesheet in the disproportionate assets case.
