MANN CHASES A FIX ON MAJITHIA

The war on drugs sees a dramatic political twist, as push comes to shove for tainted’ SAD man

- By Anilesh S. Mahajan

THERE WERE DRAMATIC SCENES outside the Mohali district court on July 2 as senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia arrived, escorted by Vigilance Bureau (VB) officials. Slogans rang out and SAD workers jostled with the police at the barricades as a defiant Majithia paused with hands folded, before the officers hurried him inside.

Picked up from his Amritsar residence on June 25, the SAD leader is being investigated in a Rs 540 crore disproportionate assets case where he is accused of laundering 'drug money. Majithia claims the charges are a rehash of old allegations. "I have faced the ED (Enforcement Directorate) and the previous Congress regime too... this too shall pass," he told aides shortly after his arrest. The SAD leader has been one of the fiercest critics of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as well as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state and there is criticism that this is payback.