Former Enforcement Directorate deputy director Niranjan Singh is set to join jailed MP Amritpal Singh-led Akali Dal Waris (Punjab De) on September 23 in Chandigarh ahead of the Punjab assembly elections, party leaders said on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the party’s acting president Tarsem Singh, along with Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, visited Niranjan’s residence in Jalandhar.
Niranjan, who retired from government service in May 2021, had probed several high-profile drug cases, including the multi-crore Jagdish Bhola drug racket. He had questioned senior politicians, including former ministers Bikram Singh Majithia and Sarwan Singh Phillaur, in connection with the case, which he probed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He had also questioned Capt Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder Singh and several popular Punjabi singers.
On the day of his retirement, he received a show-cause notice from his department. Since then, he has filed several complaints with the Union finance ministry against senior officials in his department, alleging attempts to hamper his investigations.
Confirming the development, the party parliamentary board member Sukhwinder Singh Agwan said, “The joining of Niranjan Singh has been finalised, and it will take place on Wednesday in Chandigarh.”
{{/usCountry}}Confirming the development, the party parliamentary board member Sukhwinder Singh Agwan said, “The joining of Niranjan Singh has been finalised, and it will take place on Wednesday in Chandigarh.”
{{/usCountry}}Niranjan also confirmed his decision to enter politics in an interview to a private TV channel. He said all political parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, Congress and AAP, had failed to provide respite to the people of Punjab from the drug menace, corruption and law and order problems. “Punjab has experienced all the parties. Presently, circumstances of the state are very vulnerable. Now change is the need of the hour for betterment of the state,” he said.
People familiar with the development in the party said Niranjan might be fielded from Kartarpur assembly segment falling in Jalandhar district.
As an assistant director with the ED’s Jalandhar office, Niranjan was transferred from Jalandhar to Kolkata in January 2015, while he was leading an ED team probing money-laundering allegations and had questioned then cabinet minister Majithia, among others, in the case.
The Punjab and Haryana high court had stayed the transfer the following month. The transfer had triggered a political storm, with it being seen as an attempt to scuttle the drug probe in which Punjab politicians associated with the then ruling SAD-BJP alliance were facing allegations.