Majithia’s turbulent journey hits another roadblock

Bikram Singh Majithia’s arrest on Wednesday by the Vigilance Bureau marked another turbulent moment in the career of one of Punjab’s controversial political figures.

Booked in a disproportionate assets case, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader was taken into custody after raids at 25 locations, including his Amritsar residence.

His wife, MLA Ganieve Kaur Majithia, claimed that the action was politically motivated, alleging that officials confined family members, denied legal access and bypassed protocol. The drug trade allegation against Majithia has remained a central point of Punjab politics for more than a decade now.

It was in November 2013 that drug lord Jagdish Bhola publicly named Majithia as a facilitator in drug smuggling. At that time, Majithia’s own party SAD was in power in Punjab in alliance with the BJP.

Afterwards, the Congress government under Amarinder Singh was formed on the promise of ending the drug menace in Punjab. A special task force against drugs was formed to catch the big fish and probe the role of Majithia. However, a case was registered against him at the fag end of Congress government in December 2021 and that too when Charanjit Singh Channi was the Chief Minister.

The STF had submitted a report on Majithia in 2018 and recommended a probe into his links with a synthetic drug cartel and drug money trail. The report got entangled in legal cases and could not be made public.

Based on that report, an FIR was registered in December 2021 under the NDPS Act, citing testimonies from Bhola and others, who alleged that Majithia facilitated traffickers like Maninder Singh Aulakh and Jagjit Singh Chahal and maintained links with Canada-based operative Satta. Though no direct recovery was made from him, Majithia was jailed in 2022 and granted bail five months later. The courts allowed SIT to continue probing his finances, culminating in renewed action in 2025 even as SIT members kept changing.

Presently, Patiala SSO Varun Sharma is heading the probe with IPS officer Abhimanyu Rana and SP Gurbans Bains as members.

A scion of the Majithia family and brother-in-law of SAD president Sukhbir Badal, Majithia’s political journey began in 2007 when he won from Majitha. He retained the seat in 2017, though he lost from Amritsar East in 2022. His wife’s victory in Majitha helped preserve the family’s political bastion. In 2023, Mann had accused Majithia’s ancestors of hosting Col Reginald Dyer post-Jallianwala Bagh, reigniting colonial-era resentment. Most recently, he clashed with SAD leadership over the SGPC’s removal of Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, calling it a blow to Sikh dignity.