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ED raids Punjab MLA, 8 others over ‘links with drug syndicate’
New Delhi/Chandigarh The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided premises belonging to Punjab lawmaker Sukhpal Singh Khaira and his son-in-law Inderveer Singh Johal along with seven others for allegedly being part of an international drug smuggling syndicate having links in Pakistan and the UK as well as a human trafficking racket, agency officials familiar with the development said
New Delhi/Chandigarh The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided premises belonging to Punjab lawmaker Sukhpal Singh Khaira and his son-in-law Inderveer Singh Johal along with seven others for allegedly being part of an international drug smuggling syndicate having links in Pakistan and the UK as well as a human trafficking racket, agency officials familiar with the development said.
The central agency registered two cases a few weeks back to investigate money laundering, the first on the basis of a transborder drug smuggling network unearthed in Fazilka, Punjab, in 2015, in which 1,800g heroin, 24 gold biscuits, two weapons, 26 live cartridges and two Pakistani SIM cards were seized by police; and the second pertaining to a fake passport racket being run in Delhi.
Nine smugglers were sentenced in the Fazilka case in October 2017, including Gurdev Singh, Manjit Singh, Harbans Singh and Subhash Chander, raided by the ED on Tuesday.
Khaira, who was present at his Sector 5 bungalow in Chandigarh during the ED raid, denied any wrongdoing. “Those who speak against the government are often targeted by them. It has not happened for the first time. My father and I have been fighting injustice throughout our lives and my crusade continues,” said Khaira, adding that those supporting the farmers’ protest and speaking against the central government were being targeted by the Centre.
“There is no question of any money laundering. In fact, I am under debt. I have taken an agriculture loan of ₹2 crore, for which I am paying ₹22 lakh as annual interest,” he said.
Khaira was elected to the state assembly in 2017 on an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket but later quit the party and launched his own political outfit.
Khaira’s name cropped up in the case in 2017. Although not named in the Punjab police charge sheet, Khaira was issued summons by a Fazilka court on November 30, 2017. He was Punjab’s leader of the opposition as an AAP legislator at that time. However, the Supreme Court granted him relief by quashing the proceedings against him.
An ED official, requesting anonymity, said: “Sukhpal Singh Khaira was actively aiding and supporting the gang of international smugglers and enjoying the proceeds of crime”. The lawmaker is likely to be called for questioning at the agency’s Delhi office.
After the raids, Punjab MLAs cutting across party lines raised the issue in the state assembly and described the move as “political intimidation” by the Centre.
Rebel Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Parminder Singh Dhindsa accused the Centre of using the ED as its “tool against those who speak against it”. Punjab minister Charanjit Singh Channi termed the action as completely wrong and sought a House resolution to condemn it.
Rebel AAP MLA Kanwar Sandhu dubbed the raid as “unfortunate” and said it amounted to interference in the functioning of the House as raids were conducted without taking the Speaker and the state government into confidence.
