Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has given the sanction to prosecute former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) minister Bikram Singh Majithia in a corruption case filed against him by the Vigilance Bureau.
The approval, issued under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, comes close on the heels of a recommendation made by the Punjab Cabinet on September 8.
In the corruption case registered against Majithia, he is charged with possessing assets worth over Rs700 crore, disproportionate to his declared income by around 1,200 per cent, allegedly acquired after laundering Rs 540 crore linked to a 2013 drug trafficking network.
Majithia, a three-time MLA from Majitha, had been arrested on June 25 after early-morning raids at his Amritsar residence and 25 other locations. The Vigilance Bureau seized digital devices, property documents and financial records during the operation. A Mohali court remanded him in seven-day police custody on June 26, which was later extended by four days. Thereafter, he was sent to judicial custody on July 6.
The VB had filed a detailed chargesheet on August 22, supported by over 40,000 pages of evidence and statements from more than 200 witnesses. The investigation is based on a 2013 Enforcement Directorate probe into a Rs 6,000-crore synthetic drug racket led by former DSP Jagdish Singh Bhola, who allegedly named Majithia during questioning. Though earlier drug-related charges were dropped by the court, the current case focuses on corruption and money laundering. Majithia had rejected the allegations as politically motivated. The trial against him is taking place in a Mohali sessions court.
Also read: SIT questions Majithia over missing land records
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