CHANDIGARH, Dec 1: — The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has arrested liquor contractor Harpreet Singh Gulati, a close aide of former minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikramjit Singh Majithia, after naming him a co-accused in the ongoing disproportionate assets (DA) probe against the senior politician.
Investigators alleged that Gulati facilitated illegal financial links between Majithia and liquor firms Akash Spirits, UV Enterprises and AD Enterprises. They said he also helped the politician acquire properties in Shimla and Delhi “through funds not reflected in his declared income.” Gulati was presented before a duty magistrate on Sunday and remanded to six-day police custody.
The bureau said in an official statement that the two were tied in “quid pro quo” arrangements dating back to 2007, when Majithia became a minister. “Gulati entered the liquor business when Majithia assumed office and saw a meteoric rise,” a spokesperson said, adding that Majithia allegedly built assets using money routed through Gulati.
According to the bureau, Gulati’s firms secured liquor licences “at Majithia’s instance” beginning in 2008. The vigilance alleged that his companies paid ₹4.25 crore in 2008–09, ₹1.4 crore in 2009–10 and another ₹5.49 crore in 2014–15 to entities linked to Majithia, funding properties including a farmhouse in Delhi. “So far, transactions of nearly ₹10 crore into Majithia-linked companies have surfaced,” the spokesperson said.
In a parallel move, the vigilance sought to have Majithia’s brother-in-law, Gajpat Singh Grewal, declared a fugitive. The application filed in a Mohali court said Grewal ignored repeated notices at his Sangrur residence and his Delhi properties. The plea will be heard on Monday.
The bureau has alleged that Majithia amassed more than ₹700 crore in assets — about 1,200% above his declared income — with around ₹540 crore linked to laundering of “drug money” tied to a 2013 international trafficking network. The probe stems from a 2018 STF report and a continuing SIT inquiry connected to a 2021 NDPS case.
Majithia was arrested in June after raids at 25 locations, including his Amritsar home. His bail plea was rejected by a Mohali court, and he remains in judicial custody at Nabha jail.
