Vigilance files 40,000-page chargesheet against Bikram Majithia in assets case

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau today filed a 40,000-page chargesheet in a Mohali court in the disproportionate assets case against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia.

Majithia was arrested on June 25 from his Amritsar residence in the case registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Prosecution counsel PIP Singh said the statements of more than 200 witnesses had been recorded, and that 400 bank accounts had “cropped up during the course of investigation”.

“There was a 1,200 per cent rise in disproportionate income during the period under scrutiny. Benami, immovable properties and luxury cars have been found in the name of drivers and others who were not aware that their accounts are being used,” the prosecution counsel said. The prosecution has alleged that the disproportionate assets were amassed during Majithia’s tenure as a minister in Punjab.

The defence counsel said they would check the chargesheet before making any comment. The chargesheet documents were brought to the court in four sealed trunks, offloaded from a pick-up truck. Officials said the statements of different bank accounts constituted the bulk of the documents. The Vigilance Bureau had raided around 15 locations in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and UP to gather evidence.

On August 18, the Mohali court had dismissed the bail plea of Majithia, who is currently lodged in the New Nabha jail near Patiala. On August 14, the court had extended Majithia’s judicial custody till August 28.

In 2021, the SAD leader was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on the basis of a 2018 report of the anti-drug Special Task Force. He spent more than five months in Patiala jail before walking out in August 2022 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail.