Bikram Singh Majithia has been named in an FIR by the Punjab Police.
Former Punjab minister and Akali Dal MLA Bikram Singh Majithia has been named in a police case over drug trafficking in the state, officials said today, in a move that comes just ahead of elections.
A copy of the First Information Report (FIR) seen by NDTV states that Mr Majithia has been accused of knowingly allowing drug smuggling through the use of his property or conveyance, financing the distribution or sale of drugs and criminal conspiracy for smuggling narcotics.
The FIR is based on a report by a Special Task Force appointed to curb drug abuse in Punjab.
The task force had submitted its report in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Navjot Sidhu and other leaders of the ruling Congress had been demanding the filing of a case against Mr Majithia, a member of the opposition.
A jubilant Mr Sidhu, chief of the Congress's Punjab unit, tweeted:
Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal lashed out at the government. "We knew it very well. The government changed 3 DGPs (Directors General of Police) only to register a case against Badals and Majithia. I am ready to court arrest. They can come and arrest me," he said.
Recently, a senior officer had refused to register a case against Mr Majithia and had gone on medical leave.
The Akali Dal leader, who has not yet commented on the FIR, has denied all allegations against him and said they are politically motivated.
He even scored an apology from Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party boss Arvind Kejriwal in 2018 after a defamation suit over similar accusations, following the previous state elections when the drug case was in the spotlight last.
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal too has come out strongly in defence of Mr Majithia in the past.
Last month, Mr Badal accused Mr Sidhu of resorting to "extra-constitutional" measures by directing the state government to register a false case against Mr Majithia.
Punjab is set to hold elections early next year in which the Akali Dal is one of the main opponents of the ruling Congress.
Mr Majithia is a member of the Badal family that ran Punjab for a decade; he is the brother-in-law of then Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal's younger brother.