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The Chandigarh residence of Punjab Congress MLA ‘Sukhpal Singh Khaira’ was raided by Punjab Police teams led by Superintendent of Police ‘Manjeet Singh’ on Thursday, September 28, 2023, around 6:00 a.m. During this raid, the Congress MLA was arrested in connection with a 2015 drug case.
The MLA’s son broadcast live on Facebook that a Punjab Police team had arrived at the residence to arrest Khaira. In the footage, Khaira was seen arguing with the officers and demanding an arrest warrant. Besides, legislator Bholath was observed to have questioned the identity of the police personnel involved in the raid. The police officer informed him that his arrest was related to the Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS). Khaira asked where he was being taken, and the officer claimed that he was being taken to Jalalabad in Fazilka.
“Khaira was detained as a result of the investigation into the 2015 case by a special investigation team headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police Swapan Sharma.” confirmed by an official source.
Involvement of AAP government.
The Congress MLA, who has criticized the AAP government on a number of occasions, hit out at the Bhagwant Mann government, alleging that a ‘jungle raj’ was in reality in the state and that he was being detained in a ‘false’ case. The Punjab Congress criticized the AAP government for political vendettas. Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, chief of the state unit of the Congress, and Partap Singh Bajwa, the leader of the opposition, both strongly condemned Khair’s detention.
After his detention, Warring met Mehtab Khaira, his son, and other family members when he went to Khaira’s house. He claimed that they all supported Bholath MLA. The Punjab Congress chief questioned the police action and demanded to know what investigation was carried out by the Punjab police, which led to Khaira’s arrest eight years later.
Warring argued that the lack of involvement of the Chandigarh police during the Punjab Police actions showed that “jungle raj” had taken root in the state. In a post on social media, Warring said, and Mr. Bajwa quoted, “The recent arrest of Sukhpal Khair smacks of political vendetta. It is an attempt by the AAP government in Punjab to convince the opposition and a ploy to divert attention from important interests.” “We strongly support Sukhpal Khaira and will continue this conflict to its inevitable conclusion”.
A drug case was reported in Jalalabad, Fazilka, in March 2015. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) was taken into consideration to convict nine people who were arrested in the case. The police also found two Pakistani SIM cards, 24 gold biscuits, a country-made pistol, a 315-bore pistol, and 2 kilograms of heroin with them. Later, Khaira’s case came up during the police investigation. However, the Supreme Court stayed the trial against Khaira, who was named as an additional accused in the case, in 2017.
He was detained by the Enforcement Directorate in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering in connection with the previous year’s cocaine case. In 2022, bail was granted for him. A summons order against Khaira in a 2015 narcotics case was quashed by the Court of Appeal in February 2023.
