CHANDIGARH, June 28 — In a significant development in the high-profile case against Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, former Deputy Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Niranjan Singh, visited the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) headquarters on Friday, shortly after former Punjab DGP Sarath Chattopadhya had met with bureau officials to share case-related information.
Niranjan Singh, who previously led the ED’s probe into Majithia’s financial dealings, reportedly came to furnish details regarding the money laundering and disproportionate assets case now being pursued by the Vigilance Bureau. Singh declined to speak to the media while entering the premises.
Sources said Singh’s appearance could be crucial, especially since he had earlier alleged that he faced “enormous pressure” from his superiors to slow down the probe against Majithia during his tenure at the ED.
Majithia, a former minister, was arrested from his Amritsar residence on Wednesday and is currently in seven-day Vigilance Bureau custody in connection with a Prevention of Corruption Act case. Investigators allege he acquired assets well beyond his known sources of income during his ministerial tenure starting in 2009.
He also faces grave accusations of laundering Rs 540 crore in alleged drug proceeds, a charge linked to the earlier ED probe led by Singh.
With both the former top police official and the ED officer now engaging directly with the Vigilance Bureau, officials suggest that the investigation is entering a more evidence-driven phase. The Vigilance Bureau is expected to confront Majithia with new inputs gathered during these recent interactions.
The case has intensified political fault lines in Punjab, where Majithia has long been a powerful figure in the Akali Dal, and is seen as a test case for the state’s commitment to tackling drug-linked corruption at the highest levels.
