Dera Beas chief Gurinder Dhillon visits Bikram Majithia in Nabha jail

Security arrangements were intensified in and around Nabha jail on Tuesday as Dera Beas chief Gurinder Singh Dhillon paid a visit to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia.

The two held a meeting that lasted for about 30 minutes. Following the meeting, Dhillon briefly addressed a group of devotees who had gathered outside the jail premises.

After his visit to the jail, the Dera head proceeded to Hira Mahal, the residence of the descendants of the royal family of Nabha, where he met with family members.

The jail administration has so far denied access to several senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders seeking to meet Majithia.

Recently, leaders including Daljit Singh Cheema, Sikander Singh Maluka, Mahesh Inder Grewal, and Virsa Singh Valtoha were stopped at the gate, citing rules that only allow visits from family members.

The nature and purpose of the meeting remain undisclosed. Majithia is currently lodged in Nabha jail in connection with a high-profile drugs-related case.

The unexpected visit from the spiritual leader has sparked speculation in political and religious circles.

The Vigilance Bureau had arrested Majithia on June 25 in the disproportionate assets case allegedly involving the laundering of Rs 540 crore of "drug money".

On August 22, the VB had filed a chargesheet which runs into over 40,000 pages in a Mohali court in the DA case.

In the FIR registered against Majithia, the VB had claimed that preliminary investigations revealed that more than Rs 540 crore of "drug money" had been laundered through several ways, and it was allegedly facilitated by Majithia.

This FIR against Majithia stems from an ongoing investigation being conducted by a Punjab Police special investigation team into the 2021 drug case.

In 2021, Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The action was taken on the basis of a 2018 report of the anti-drug Special Task Force.

Majithia spent more than five months in Patiala jail and walked out of prison in August 2022 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail.

Radha Soami Satsang is located in Beas town, nearly 45 km away from Amritsar city. It has followers across the country, especially in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.