Seven-day Vigilance custody for Bikram Majithia

A Mohali court on Thursday sent SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia to seven-day Vigilance Bureau (VB) custody in a corruption case.

The bureau had arrested Majithia from his home in Amritsar on Wednesday in a case lodged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Apart from amassing wealth beyond his known sources of income, he has been accused of laundering Rs 540 crore of drug money.

The special public prosecutor had sought 15-day remand. Majithia will be produced in the Mohali court again on July 2.

The court order came two-and-a-half hours after Majithia was brought to the courts complex.

The court held that the accused was once an office-holder of Saraya Industries Limited (SIL) and sudden increase in cash deposits in the company and its subsidiaries required thorough investigation.

“Furthermore, the SIL ventured into energy sector only when the accused was a minister of that portfolio also requires thorough investigation. Various discrepancies and questionable transactions have surfaced which require investigation,” it said.

The court ordered one of Majithia’s lawyers to meet him from 4 pm to 5 pm during the period of remand.

Talking to mediapersons, prosecution counsel Ferry Sofat said, “Bikram Singh Majithia’s income of Rs 540 crore remains undisclosed and he could not mention any details about it. Saraya Industries acquired wealth and got Rs 161 crore cash deposited in bank accounts and Rs 141 crore through foreign entities.”

“There is no explanation or legitimate source to it. Rupees 236 crore has been credited to the accounts of Saraya, for which there is no explanation in financial statements. After an NDPS Act case was registered against Majithia, Gorakhpur-based Saraya Industries, which was in profit till now, has been put under liquidation to hide money laundering,” he added.

“Majithia’s threatening behaviour towards VB officials at his house and during the transit from Amritsar to Mohali was also brought to the notice of the court after which a seven-day remand was given,” he added.

The counsel said Majithia’s firms were dealing with entities in Cyprus and Singapore, which were considered tax havens.

Defence counsel HS Dhanoa and Arshdeep Cheema said they would apply for bail and quashing of the FIR.

“This is a blatant misuse of power by the Punjab Government. The government is having a hard time in the Supreme Court in a 2021 case. They have not been able to file a chargesheet in the case, so they are now buying time by registering a new FIR for disproportionate assets,” both said.