ED raids Sukhpal Singh Khaira, others in drugs, fake passport cases

New Delhi/Jalandhar, March 9

Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials today raided several premises of rebel AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, his family members and some jailed convicts under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Punjab and Delhi in connection with the 2015 Fazilka narcotics trafficking case and an alleged fake passport case.

Bid to gag my voice

It is an attempt to gag my voice. I have not done anything wrong. — Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Rebel AAP MLA

Searches echo in house

In the Assembly, rebel SAD MLA Parminder Singh Dhindsa called it “political intimidation”. Cong minister Charanjit Singh Channi sought a resolution to “condemn” the action. PTI 

Besides Khaira’s Chandigarh residence, the ED officials, led by Deputy Director Neha Yadav, searched nine places in Punjab and two in Delhi, including the house of Khaira’s son-in-law Inderveer Singh Johal, officials said. The searches began early in the morning and continued late into the night. In Punjab, searches were conducted at Khaira’s ancestral Ramgarh village in Bholath (Kapurthala), his personal assistant’s house in Kapurthala, and residences of three persons, including Rajwinder Kaur, and Bikker Singh (both from Kapurthala) and Harminder Kaur (Jalandhar), who are reportedly suspects in the fake passport case.

According to ED officials, the Bholath MLA allegedly had links with “the drugs racket convicts and fake passport racketeers”. The officials said the action was being carried out against the MLA and others to gather more evidence to take forward the probe in the two cases.

The officials said the action pertains to the 2015 Fazilka (Punjab) drugs smuggling case, in which 1,800 gm heroin, 24 gold biscuits, two weapons, 26 cartridges and two Pakistan SIM cards were seized from a gang of international smugglers by security agencies. An ED official said searches on Khaira’s premises were linked the drugs case.

The central agency had recently filed a case under the PMLA in this connection following an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police. “The drugs were smuggled through the Pakistan border and one of the kingpins is in the UK. Khaira was actively aiding and supporting the gang of international smugglers and enjoying the proceeds of crime,” the ED alleged, adding a few of the convicts of the drugs case, currently lodged in jail, were also searched and questioned.

The officials identified them as Gurdev Singh, Manjit Singh, Harbans Singh and Subhash Chander, all residents of Fazilka district.

During the search operations, the team could recover incriminating documents and digital devices, the officials said. The firebrand leader, who switched from the Congress to AAP before floating the Punjab Ekta Party in 2019, had recently taken up the case of suspicious death of farmer Navreet Singh on January 26 during the farm protests. — TNS