Is Punjab Vigilance Fabricating Evidence Against Majithia?

Chandigarh, July 25 (NationPress) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) declared on Friday that after failing to substantiate claims in the disproportionate assets case against former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, officials from the Vigilance Bureau have resorted to "fabricating false evidence" against the Akali leader.

SAD chief spokesman Arshdeep Singh Kler, along with Majithia's attorney Damanbir Singh Sobti, stated that the Vigilance Bureau has "failed" to support their assertions that 29 mobile phones were seized from the Akali Dal leader, which allegedly involved transactions amounting to Rs 141 crore, investments of Rs 540 crore, and ownership of 1,000 acres of land in Himachal Pradesh.

They further alleged that now, "The Vigilance Bureau is unlawfully detaining individuals and coercing them to provide statements."

As an illustration, the duo mentioned that Superintendent of Police G. S. Bains apprehended Balwinder Singh and his brother-in-law Manjinder Singh from Amritsar on July 21.

According to them, "They were held in a private hotel in Amritsar and were pressured to sign statements under Section 164, which falsely claimed that investments made by his late brother Rupinder Singh were funded by cash from Bikram Singh Majithia. The next day, the pair was taken to the Vigilance Bureau office in Mohali, where investigating officer Inderpal Singh verbally abused them," stated Kler and Sobti.

During a media briefing, Kler and Sobti revealed that the families of Bains and Singh approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, leading to a habeas corpus petition being filed.

They explained, "The High Court designated a warrant officer who, along with a team, conducted a raid at the Vigilance Bureau office in Mohali. Upon learning of this event, Bains and Singh were swiftly returned to Amritsar and coerced by Vigilance officials to tell their family they were arriving by bus, which they categorically denied."

They stated that Vasu Pathak's testimony is now being recorded, in which Vasu is being urged to claim that a man named Jeeta Maur made an investment using cash purportedly received from Majithia.

Additionally, it was revealed that a person named Mahesh Puri, who claimed to be a retired CBI official and an advisor to AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on legal matters, regularly visited the Vigilance office to direct officials on how to proceed with the case.

Another individual, Vishaljit Singh, was also alleged to be "dictating" to the officials involved in the case.

Kler and Sobti asserted that both Mahesh Puri and Vishaljit Singh are coercing officers to sign documents related to the case as part of a "deep-rooted conspiracy originating from Delhi."

Majithia's legal representatives also disclosed that Ravjot Kaur Grewal and Naveen Singla have been associated with the team without any official orders.

Kler pointed out, "These individuals are supervising efforts to create and fabricate evidence against Majithia. The team indicated that while evidence collection has concluded, evidence fabrication is currently underway."

They expressed concerns that a third false case might be launched against Majithia to "silence" his voice, which consistently challenges Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for "failing" to fulfill commitments made to the people of Punjab.

Kler added, "Vendetta politics" has become a new instrument for the government to obscure its "failures," and in the upcoming year and a half, the people of Punjab may witness numerous such "false cases against government opponents."

A Mohali court on July 19 extended the judicial custody of SAD leader Majithia until August 2 in connection with a disproportionate assets case involving the alleged laundering of Rs 540 crore in drug money.

The Bureau detained Majithia at his residence in Amritsar on June 25.