Chandigarh (Punjab) [India] : Condemning the detention of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Thursday termed the action taken by Punjab Police as a “jungle raj”.
In an early morning operation on Thursday, a team of Punjab Police reached Khaira’s residence and conducted a raid in connection with an old case registered in 2015 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Jalalabad, Fazilka.
“I condemn this arrest. This is jungle raj as there is nothing in the case. The Supreme Court has stayed the proceeding and quashed it. The notice regarding stay has been given to ED, then tell me what is remaining in this eight-year-old case,” Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said.
He further said that Congress President Kharge called me in the morning and asked us to fight for Khaira.
“His family has said that anything can happen to him,” he added.
The President of the Punjab Congress also took to X (Formerly Twitter) and called the arrest a ploy by the Punjab government to distract people from the core issues.
“The recent arrest of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira ji smacks of Political Vendetta, it is an attempt to intimidate the opposition and is a ploy of the Punjab government to distract from core issues. We stand strongly with Sukhpal Khaira and will take this fight to its logical conclusion,” Warring posted on X.
Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa also condemned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Punjab government against the detention of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira.
“Early in the morning at 6 am, Punjab Police arrested Khaira from his residence. My brothers the sad part is that the police did not have an arrest warrant,” Bajwa said.
He further assured all the members of the Punjab Congress that we stand like a rock with the entire leadership of the party and every worker.
“We will fight hard for Khaira Ji’s release,’ he said.
He further launched an attack on Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and said that the Governments don’t last forever.
“Governments don’t last forever, I strongly criticize your dictatorial action. Today is the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and on that day you did this,” he said.
In its first response the Aam Admi Party said that the government in Punjab was just following the due course of law and Khaira’s links with drug business were no secret
” The law will take its own course. It is well-known that Sukhpal Khaira ji indulged in the drugs business. He kept getting protection from earlier governments. Now, a proper investigation will be conducted” AAP MP Sushil Gupta said.
Sukhpal Singh Khaira was detained by Punjab police in connection with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Khaira was hosting a Facebook Live where he can be seen arguing with police personnel as they raided his house this morning. A police official can be seen in the video telling Khaira that a SIT has been formed in an old drug smuggling case.
In the video, Khaira is also seen raising slogans of “Punjab Sarkar murdabad” as the police personnel detain him.
Earlier in 2015, there are two cases originated with the unearthing of a cross-border drug smuggling network in Fazilka, Punjab, leading to the seizure of heroin, gold biscuits, weapons, cartridges, and Pakistani SIM cards and the second of a fake passport racket being run in Delhi.
As the trial went on, nine smugglers, including Gurdev Singh, Manjit Singh, Harbans Singh, and Subhash Chander, were sentenced in October 2017 in connection with the Fazilka case. As per the chargesheet, Khaira was closely associated with Gurdev Singh, the leader of the Fazilka drug smuggling racket, and is accused of having sheltered him.
The primary accusations against Khaira include supporting an international gang of smugglers, having sheltered him and receiving financial benefits from drug traffickers, and enjoying the proceeds of crime.
On February 16, 2023, a Supreme Court bench of Justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath quashed the summoning order against Khaira in the drugs case.
Sukhpal Khaira is an MLA from Bholath in Kapurthala of Punjab and Chairman of All India Kisan Congress.
The arrest of Sukhpal Khaira is expected to further dent the relations of AAP and the Congress which have come together to form the INDIA alliance at the centre. The state unit of the Congress has opposed any tie-up or seat-sharing arrangement with the AAP in Punjab.
