Channi told reporters here that the drug racket had come to the fore in 2013, when the SAD-BJP government was in power in the state.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday said SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia has been booked in a drug case as there is enough evidence against him and an STF report points to it. The CM also vowed to catch the "big fish" involved in the drug racket and slammed his predecessor Amarinder Singh, saying he did not make the STF report on it public.
Majithia, 46, was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on Monday on the basis of a 2018 status report of a probe into a drug racket in the state. The Union Home Ministry has issued against the former Punjab minister a lookout circular, which prevents him from leaving the country. Majithia has moved a Mohali court for an anticipatory bail.
Channi told reporters here that the drug racket had come to the fore in 2013, when the SAD-BJP government was in power in the state. He said the Enforcement Directorate has been investigating the case since 2013, when now dismissed policeman Jagdish Singh Bhola, alleged kingpin in the synthetic drugs case, was arrested by the Punjab Police.
It was Bhola who had taken Majithia's name in front of the media after his arrest in January 2014, said Channi. "The STF report mentioned that there is enough evidence against Bikram Majithia. Later, we converted that report into an FIR," he told reporters here ruling out any political vendetta. Channi held his predecessor Amarinder Singh and the then advocate general responsible for not making the STF report public and initiating any action on it.
Channi said after he became the CM, the matter was pursued. The CM said the case was lodged against Majithia after he was convinced of it. "First of all, I convinced myself and asked my officers that what we are doing has to be right. First, I found out what the reality is and when I was convinced…then we took up the issue and moved forward. First, I listened to my conscience," he said.
"This fight (against drug menace) is the nation's fight, this is Punjab's fight, this is the fight to secure the future of our youth. We will not spare those who spread the drug menace and take this case to its logical conclusion," Channi said. He said the property and businesses of the "big fish" whose involvement is found in the drug racket will also be under the scanner now. "Till the time you do not catch big fish, it does not send out a message below," Channi said. Channi also slammed AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and former CM Amarinder Singh over their comments on registration of the case, saying the cat is out of the bag now.
-With PTI Inputs