Drug racket: Khaira dares govt to order CBI probe
Wednesday, 11/03/2015
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CHANDIGARH: Congress spokesman and former MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Tuesday demanded a probe by a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court or by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into allegations of his involvement in the drug racket.
The Fazilka police on Monday claimed to have busted a gang of trans-border smugglers with the arrest of eight persons, including its mastermind Gurdev Singh, a former sarpanch and chairman of the Dhilwan Market Committee, Kapurthala. The police alleged that Gurdev was a close associate of Khaira.
Khaira said the police were trying to frame him in the drug racket at the behest of Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal, Bhoalth MLA Bibi Jagir Kaur and director general of police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini. Addressing a press conference, Khaira said the government should also order a CBI probe against revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia for accepting ` 35 lakh from Jagjit Singh Chahal, accused in the ` 6,000 crore drug racket.
“Sukhbir said Saini took no time to set up a special investigating agency after the Fazilka police linked me with Gurdev. But they gave a clean chit to Majithia within hours after being named by drug lord Jagdish Bhola last year,” said Khaira. Admitting that he knew Gurdev as his political supporter, Khaira said he used to call Gurdev to enquire about his health after hepatitisB. “Even inspector general of police, Bathinda zone, Paramraj Singh Umranangal’s claim that I exchanged 78 calls with Gurdev in the past 11 months is contradictory. In a press release, the police claimed that Gurdev started the drug trade in the mid-2014. Therefore, any call made to him earlier was not an offence,” said Khaira.
Khaira said Gurdev’s UK-based sister Charanjit Kaur asked him for help on February 27 or 28 as Gurdev was missing from home for the past many days. “As per her request, I contacted Gurdev on the mobile phone number given by his sister as the Fazilka police was hounding him,” said Khaira.
“Gurdev, who is also a travel agent, told me that the police was trying to implicate him following a complaint by a Jalalabad resident who owed him ` 22 lakh. I called Umranangal and deputy inspector general Amar Singh Chahal on March 4 to plead that Gurdev should not be implicated. The moment they told me about Gurdev’s involvement in the drug racket, I withdrew my request. I have never asked the police to release Gurdev in the drug case,” claimed Khaira.
‘NO DECISION YET ON QUITTING CONG’
Khaira said he needed some more days to decide on quitting the Congress and joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). “It’s a tough call, especially if one has spent nearly 18 years in the party,” said Khaira.
POLICE ACTING ON EVIDENCE: IGP
BATHINDA: Amid allegations by Khaira that the state government was trying to tarnish his image by dragging his name in the drug racket, Bathinda zone inspector general of police (IGP) Paramraj Singh Umranangal said the police were acting on the basis of evidence.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Umranangal said the police claimed that Khaira had called him to say Gurdev had hepatitis B and might have taken to the drug trade to raise money for treatment.
