The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) arrested Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former state minister Bikram Singh Majithia in Amritsar on Wednesday after registering a fresh case against him for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
A senior VB official said besides Majithia’s Amritsar residence, simultaneous raids were carried out at 25 properties across Punjab. Nine of the properties are in Amritsar district. “A first information report has been registered, and a formal statement will be issued shortly,” the official said in Chandigarh.
Majithia will be produced before the Amritsar district court around 3pm, the official said.
The new FIR stems from findings during the ongoing investigation into a 2021 drug-trafficking case registered against Majithia, who is also the brother-in-law of SAD chief and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, during the Congress government’s tenure. VB officials involved in the probe claimed that financial documents and transactions linked to Majithia showed significant discrepancies, prompting the bureau to take action under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Majithia was earlier out on bail in the drug-trafficking case registered under Sections 25, 27A, and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Prosecutors had alleged that he provided logistical and financial support to key figures in the Punjab drug racket, including Jagdish Bhola, Maninder Singh Aulakh, and Jagjit Singh Chahal.
He was arrested in February 2022 and spent several months in judicial custody before securing a regular bail from the Punjab and Haryana high court in August 2022. The Supreme Court upheld his bail in April 2025, but imposed strict conditions, including a bar on influencing witnesses or making public statements about the case.
Majithia was most recently questioned in March 2025 by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) regarding hawala transactions and suspicious financial dealings linked to drug syndicates.
On Wednesday’s raids, Majithia posted on X: “A long time ago, I had already stated that when the Bhagwant Mann government couldn’t find anything against me in the false drug case, they would try to frame me in another fabricated case. Today, a team led by the SSP of Vigilance conducted a raid on me. Bhagwant Mann ji, understand this clearly — no matter how many cases you file against me, I will neither be afraid nor will your government be able to suppress my voice. I have always spoken about the issues of Punjab, and I will continue to do so. I have complete faith in the Almighty and Guru Sahib. In the end, truth will prevail.”
Protesting against the raid, Majithia’s wife Ganieve Kaur, who is also the SAD MLA from Majitha, said: “Thirty people forcibly barged into our house by pushing the doors this morning. This is our private residence. Nobody can do this.”
An angry Majithia said that his wife and children were about to leave for paying obeisance at Golden Temple when the VB men barged into his house, terrorising the family.
Meanwhile, Punjab Police commandos have been deployed and barricades have been put up outside Majithia’s house to maintain law and order. SAD workers started arriving soon after the news of the raids surfaced on social media. (With inputs by Surjit Singh from Amritsar)
