Punjab: Ex-Akali Dal leaders named in chargesheet in Rs 10,000-crore drug case
Of them, two had switched to the Congress before the Assembly elections held earlier this year.
At least three leaders affiliated with the Shiromani Akali Dal were named in the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet in the Rs 10,000-crore Bhola drug case in Punjab.
Of them, two, Sarwan Singh Phillaur and his son Damanvir Phillaur switched to the Congress before the 2017 state elections. The third is former SAD legislator Avinash Chander. The three face charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Jagdish Bhola was a deputy superintendent of police who was said to have run a drug cartel in Punjab. He was arrested in November 2013. When his Mohali home was raided, drugs worth over Rs 100 crore were recovered, Hindustan Times reported. He had been assisted by several politicians. Besides Bhola, former SAD leader Jagjit Singh Chahal was also an accused in the case.
The ED’s 8,400-page chargesheet was filed at a PMLA court in Mohali, and names 12 persons. This is the first time two prominent politicians were named in its chargesheet in the case. The ED has confiscated several properties in connection with the case.