SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia’s Arrest in ‘Drug Money’ Case Sparks Political Storm in Punjab

Jalandhar: The arrest of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia by a team of Punjab vigilance bureau (VB) from his house in Amritsar on Wednesday, June 25, has led to a political storm in the state, bringing him, the scourge of drugs and Punjab politics around it into the spotlight once again. 

A raid by VB officials was also conducted at the leader’s Chandigarh residence.

Majithia, who was produced in the court on Thursday morning, was remanded to seven-day vigilance custody. 

His wife, Ganieve Kaur Majithia, is the sitting MLA from his home turf Majitha assembly constituency in Amritsar. In the videos of the raid that have surfaced on social media, purportedly filmed by her, Majithia is seen confronting the officials about their identity and questioning why they were not in uniform.

An FIR was filed against the SAD leader under sections 13 (1) (b) and 13 (2) of The Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018, by the VB by assistant inspector general Swarandeep Singh, VB Bureau, Flying Squad-1, Punjab, SAS Nagar. 

Singh was recently reinstated after being suspended, along with another Punjab Police officer, in a driving license scam in May.

Majithia’s arrest comes in the backdrop of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government’s ‘Yudh Nasheya Virudh’ (war against drugs) campaign launched on March 1, 2025, as part of which properties allegedly belonging to drug peddlers were razed using bulldozers.

Majithia was among leaders in the opposition SAD and Congress who were targeting the AAP government for its failure to curb drugs.

However, this time, the Delhi-based ‘Saraya Industries’, owned by his father Satyajit Singh Majithia, his elder brother Gurmeher Singh Majithia and Deepak Khajuria, came under the scanner. 

Punjab’s drug menace

Punjab’s drugs menace has been a political and legal issue for over a decade. The first FIR in a notorious Rs 6,000-crore synthetic drugs case was lodged at Fatehgarh Sahib district in 2012. 

In 2014, the scandal led to a political storm when now-dismissed Punjab Police wrestler-cum-deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Jagdish Bhola, a prime accused in the scandal, named Majithia during a court hearing. 

As drugs remained a major political talking point in Punjab, both AAP and the Congress milked the issue for electoral gains. The AAP leaders, in particular, linked Majithia with drug trade. 

Irked by AAP leaders tarnishing his image, Majithia also filed a criminal defamation case against party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Ashish Khetan and Sanjay Singh in 2016. 

In March 2018, both Kejriwal and Khetan had to retract their statements and submitted a written apology in the court. Meanwhile, Sanjay Singh is still fighting the case. 

Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal was the revenue minister of Punjab, under the previous SAD-BJP government. 

Further, in the run up to the 2022 assembly elections, ex-chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi had lodged an FIR against him in December 2021. 

The VB’s action is in connection with the same FIR from 2021, in which Majithia was sent to jail for three months.

‘More big fish will be caught soon,’ says Punjab CM

A day after the arrest of Majithia, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann held a press conference in the disproportionate assets case against Bikram Majithia and said, “Till now, they were saying that we are not catching the big fish, now they are saying this is political vendetta. However big or politically influential a person may be, I am not going to have pity on anybody. Even if they are the president of any party, they will be brought to book.”

Without naming Majithia, Mann said that his government acted with strong evidence in hand. “All those who went to jail, around 80/90% of them could never get bail. Those who have a misconception that they have got the right ‘contacts’ to evade arrest, nothing will work. Here, the VB and Punjab Police will come and culprits will be punished. People were fed up with drug menace,” he said, adding that his government is fighting ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ and they were getting a thumping response from the villages. 

Mann also expressed fear during the press conference that there could be a threat to his life. “Chahe wo mera bhi koi nuksan karna chahte ho (Even if they want to harm me), I will continue the war against drugs”, he said.

30 mobile phones, five laptops, three ipads, two desktops and property documents seized

In its statement on June 25, the VB stated that investigations by the SIT probing the December 2021 FIR, registered under section 25, 27-A and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985, and the Vigilance Bureau, revealed massive laundering of drug money facilitated by Majithia. 

“Preliminary investigations reveal that more than Rs 540 crores of drug money has been laundered through several ways, including huge unaccounted cash worth Rs 161 crores deposited in bank accounts of companies controlled by Bikram Singh Majithia, channelization of Rs 141 crores through suspected foreign entities, excess deposition of Rs 236 crores without disclosure/explanation in company financial statements, and acquisition of movable/immovable assets by Bikram Singh Majithia without any legitimate source of income,” the statement read.

A VB spokesperson said that these transactions were being investigated by the bureau and the SIT probe also clearly indicated that these funds were used to launder drug money, funneled into ‘Saraya Industries’ and facilitated by Majithia.

“So far, Rs 540 crores drug money has been tracked as having been generated illegally and by using the influence of Bikram Singh Majithia as a public servant, being an MLA and holding a cabinet post in the erstwhile Punjab government. The assets, including both immovable/movable in the name of Bikram Singh Majithia and his wife Genieve Kaur have increased substantially for which no legitimate source of income has been provided,” the spokesperson said.

According to the VB spokesperson, the SIT conducted searches and seizures of 22 persons and the VB raided three locations which yielded 30 mobile phones, five laptops, three ipads, two desktops, several diaries, many property documents and documents of Saraya Industries.

The spokesperson added that Bikram Singh Majithia was arrested by the VB in accordance with law after following due procedure. 

“Investigations are going on and more arrests, searches and seizures would take place. The investigation would be taken to its logical conclusion by submitting all collected evidence before the court of competent jurisdiction for judicial verdict,” the spokesperson added.

SAD MLAs question arrest of Majithia

Addressing a press conference on June 26, Thursday, senior SAD leaders Balwinder Singh Bhundar, Maheshinder Singh Grewal and party spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said that the AAP government had violated the law by registering a disproportionate assets case against senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia without holding either a preliminary or regular probe.

They also accused the AAP government of indulging in political vendetta to gag Majithia as well as divert attention from the failure of its anti-drugs drive.

They said that the Bhagwant Mann-led government was misleading Punjabis and committing contempt of court by saying that Majithia had been arrested in a Rs 540 crore drug case.

“This is not only absurd but a bundle of lies for which the AAP leaders will be held accountable,” said Maheshinder Grewal, adding that the government should tell why it has not released a single complaint with regard to the Rs 540 crore figure it had concocted in either the FIR or otherwise.

Grewal noted that the public prosecutor said today that only a disproportionate assets case had been registered against Majithia.

“Even this is fabricated. The properties mentioned in the complaint were in the Majithia family even before Bikram Majithia was born. The Majithia family is an ancestrally rich family with Bikram Majithia’s grandfather owning aircrafts and even a Rolls Royce car way back in the 1950s. It has also been wrongly imputed that Bikram Majithia was responsible for decision making in the Saraya Industries as he had resigned as a Director of the Company in 2007,” he added.

Party spokesperson Daljeet Cheema said that the allegations made in the new case against Majithia were submitted to the Supreme Court also while seeking to cancel the bail given to the Akali leader in a NDPS case. 

“The Supreme Court did not take cognisance of the allegations and now they have been recycled and turned into a new case,” he alleged. 

Cheema also said that an “Emergency-like situation” was created at the Mohali court, as a heavy posse of police was deployed at all the gates, not allowing anybody to go inside. 

He thanked the opposition, especially Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira, who reached Majithia’s house yesterday to express solidarity with him. 

Following Majithia’s arrest, his sister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and his brother-in-law, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, condemned the AAP government for witch hunt and termed it political vendetta. 

Harsimrat Kaur Badal pointed out that her brother was known for daring to expose the AAP government, whether it was the wrongdoings, or objectionable videos of its ministers. 

She reminded CM Mann that it was AAP national president Arvind Kejriwal who had sought a written apology from her brother. She challenged him saying, “Even after a 1.5 years, when you [Mann] run away from the country, the SAD will bring you back to ensure justice to all.”

AAP MLA also questions arrest

Interestingly, AAP MLA from Amritsar North, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh questioned the rationale of arresting Majithia now whereas he was already jailed for three months when an FIR was lodged against him by former CM Channi in 2021.

“I might have political differences but the Bhagwant Mann government did not seek remand or question him. Later, Mann government’s officials provided him bail. The high court had granted bail on the grounds that if Majithia was not wanted for questioning, it was illegal to keep him in jail. However, now notices were being issued, raids were being conducted and the dignity of the women in the house was being violated. This is no longer about politics, it is about principles, ethics, and decency,” he said in a post on Facebook, showing possible signs of cracks within the party.

Earlier, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami too had termed the arrest of Majithia as “politically driven” by Punjab government’s frustration and vindictiveness. 

“If there was a need for investigation or questioning, proper legal procedures should have been followed,” he said.

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