High drama during Majithia’s arrest
High drama was witnessed during the arrest of former Punjab minister and senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia amid heavy police bandobast near his residence located in posh Green Avenue area here on Wednesday.
Every road leading to the residence of Majithia was cordoned off and barricades were put up to restrict entry towards his house. Cops from Special Operations Group (SOG) and SWAT (Special Weapon and Tactics) team along with senior police officials stood guard at the spot.
Neither the media nor the SAD leaders who gathered at the spot were allowed inside as information about the Vigilance raid at Majithia’s residence spread.
Bikram Majithia also argued with the Vigilance personnel who, he alleged, had barged into his residence in civvies. He asked for their identity proof and alleged that they had illegally trespassed into his property.
SAD leaders led by former Punjab minister Gulzar Singh Ranike and Avtar Singh Trukawala tried to storm the barricades and go towards Majithia’s house but faced resistance from the cops.
A minor scuffle also took place when SAD leaders tried to enter the house after the Vigilance team took him to Mohali. They were pushed back by the cops stationed there led by Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Harpal Singh.
Earlier, Majithia’s wife and Majitha MLA Ganieve Kaur also tried to take the media to the residence and argued with the cops.
Apart from Vigilance officials, senior police officials including Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigations) Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu, DCP (Law and Order) Alam Vijay Singh and Additional Deputy Commissioners were also present there in order to thwart any untoward incident as several SAD leaders and workers tried to storm the barricade and try to reach Majithia’s house.
It may be mentioned that a flying squad of Punjab Vigilance Bureau raided the house of Bikram Majithia and arrested him in a disproportionate assets case registered at Mohali. The flying squad was led by SSP Vigilance Swarandeep Singh who was assisted by other officials during the raid. The raid started at around 6 am and continued till 4 pm.
‘Dark day for democracy’
While condemning the arrest of former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia by the Vigilance Bureau in a drug and disproportionate assets case, senior BJP leader Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina termed it an act of political vendetta and a major attack on the democratic rights of the opposition.
He said that the AAP government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was adopting a vindictive stance under the remote control of Delhi AAP leaders, Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh.
Meanwhile, vice-president and Khadoor Sahib Constituency in-charge ex-MLA, Ravinder Singh Brahmpura condemned Majithia’s arrest and said it was a manifestation of political vendetta directed by the AAP government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, under the influence of Arvind Kejriwal. He termed it a dark day for democracy in Punjab.
Amritsar