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Letter bomb: Asthana objects to action against ex-Punjab minister Majithia in drug case
Curiously, Asthana wrote the letter to DGP before availing two-day medical leave which ended on Sunday and the same evening he was admitted in the Mohali hospital amid reports of pressure on him to give nod to take action against Majithia in drug case
In a new twist to the Congress government’s move on the political-sensitive drug cases ahead of the Punjab assembly elections, a letter purportedly written by the Bureau of Investigation( BOI) chief AS Asthana surfaced on social media on Monday in which he expressed himself against booking Shiromani Akali Dal leader --- former minister Bikram Singh Majithia --- on the basis of a 2018 special task force (STF) report lying in a sealed cover with the high court.
Four pages of the letter addressed to director general of police (DGP) Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota on December 11 were also shared with the media from an anonymous foreign number.
Senior police officials, privy to the development, confirmed that the pages were from Asthana’s confidential note to his boss in which he has sought more legal scrutiny of the facts before registering an FIR as follow-up to a 2018 report of STF head Harpreet Singh Sidhu which was submitted to the HC.
The Channi government has lately been under a mounting pressure, notably from state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, to act on the STF report on alleged complicity of certain political leaders and police officials in the drug racket.
In his letter, Asthana stated that a perusal of the relevant orders of the high court shows that certain statements were recorded by the Enforcement Directorate of some accused in the NDPS cases namely Jagdish Bhola, Jagjit Singh Chahal and Maninder Singh Bittu Aulakh.
The HC had entrusted the ED report to STF head Sidhu with direction to examine the same. “Therefore, the report prepared and submitted by STF chief was essentially for the assistance and benefit of the high court. It was not a report made in course of investigation in NDPS cases in the exercise of the STF in the usual course of action,” the letter reads.
He added that the record suggest that this very report was, on one hand, handed over to ED and, on other, was handed over to AG, Punjab, for consideration and hence, the state government, under the high court orders, constituted a committee of Punjab DGP and additional chief secretary (Home) to examine it.
‘Drug report only a link in the chain’
“The report of the STF head is only a link in the chain. It is essential to seek permission of the HC to get subsequent report of the committee reopened to verify as to whether the report of STF head has merged into the subsequent reports,” the BoI chief said.
He has sought clarity if it would be legally tenable to act upon the report of the head of STF, when the same lies sealed in custody of the high court and despite presumably requesting the HC by AG, Punjab, to return the same it has not been returned to date.
Curiously, Asthana wrote the letter to DGP before availing two-day medical leave which ended on Sunday and the same evening he was admitted in the Mohali hospital amid reports of pressure on him to give nod to take action against Majithia.
Notably, Asthana was especially brought in by Channi government as BoI head couple of weeks back. He was the third officer to get posting of BoI chief in just one month.
Sahota did not respond to Hindustan Times’ calls and text messages to get his version. Asthana read all the text queries sent on his mobile phone but did not respond about the letter.
Takes on STF chief
In his letter, Asthana also said that STF chief Harpreet Sidhu has conceded that Majithia is his close family relation.
“In all fairness, Sidhu should have recused himself from carrying out any probe against Majithia, which less submit his opinion-cum-status report before the high court,” the findings said.
The letter said the STF report was not based on any investigation and cannot also be treated as any fresh evidence or new material to enable further investigation, especially in the FIRs whose trial have already been concluded long time ago.
“The said report therefore cannot be taken as a source report for the purpose of the further investigation,” said Asthana’s note.
The ED, Asthana said, has filed one prosecution complaint and five supplement complaints in the case. “No prosecution complaint has been filed even by the ED against Majithia. The Special court conducting trials of all these cases also at no stage has summoned Majithia as an accused by invoking provisions of the law. Some of the accused, in the money laundering trials in the cases have approached Supreme Court and even their trials have been stayed,” said the letter.
“What is weight of three statements recorded by ED to further investigate Majithia when the agency itself chose not to proceed against him?”
Legal advice to AG
The BoI chief has also mentioned about some latest legal advice of AG in the case. “Can this latest advice be relied upon in the light of the fact that the same may be completely contradictory or in consonance to the previous legal advices by former AGs as this case has been deliberated upon since long,” he wrote.
Asthana’s letter has been leaked in the wake of SAD’s shrill allegations of witch-hunt against the ruling Congress. On Sunday, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal publicly accused Channi, Navjot Sidhu and home minister Sukhjinder Randhawa of conspiring with the police to book him and Majithia in different cases.
