Acquitted in drug case, Raja Kandola, wife convicted in money laundering case

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 13

Eight months since Ranjit Singh, alias Raja Kandola, had been acquitted in the infamous case of smuggling of ICE, heroin and other drugs, the court of District and Sessions Judge-cum-Special PMLA Judge Nirbhow Singh Gill on Tuesday convicted him in a case of money laundering and sentenced him to undergo nine years of rigorous imprisonment and to pay Rs 1 lakh fine.

He and his wife Rajwant Kaur Virk have been convicted under Sections 3 and 4 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the case pursued by the Enforcement Directorate. Virk has been sentenced to three years of RI and to pay fine of Rs 25,000. Their son Bally Singh, who is a US citizen, has been acquitted of the charges by giving him a benefit of doubt. Both the convicts have already undergone the period of imprisonment during investigation and trial.

As many as 12 immovable properties as well as the bank account in the name of Kandola and his wife, which had been attached earlier on the orders of now retired Deputy Director ED Niranjan Singh, have now been ordered to be confiscated. Nine of these properties measuring more than 78 kanals are in Samrala. Their house on 14.7 marla land at NRI Enclave in Banga, too, has been ordered to be recovered. A house in DLF Gurgaon and a hotel in Ropar in the name of Virk also stand to be confiscated.

Special Public Prosecutor Balram Shakti had made a case that the convict was dealing with drugs and illegitimate money was used for purchasing the property. He had sought that maximum punishment be given to him to send a message to society. The court observed: “Kandola had enriched himself from the proceeds of crime and had purchased the properties in his name as well in the name of his family members. Since Kandola’s wife was not involved in any scheduled offence and participated in the offence of money laundering toeing line of her husband, a relatively lenient view has been taken in her case.”

The conviction of Kandola in the ED case has come as a second back-to-back success for retired ED officer Niranjan Singh, who recently had managed conviction of Jagdish Bhola in a PMLA case in Mohali. Niranjan Singh and special PP Balram Shakti said: “Since the police case had fallen flat in Kandola’s case and the PMLA case was based on the police case, we had to ensure making our case completely tight. We had to convince the court that despite having no source of income and not paying any income tax, the accused had amassed so many properties, which had to be from the proceeds of crime.”