Punjab and Haryana HC grants bail to Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira; son alleges state police registered another case
Jan 04, 2024
Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], January 4 : The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted a regular bail to Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira in connection with an eight-year-old case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
After receiving the bail, Congress MLA's son and advocate Mehtab Singh Khaira alleged that the Punjab Police had secretly registered another case against Sukhpal Khaira so that he wouldn't be able to come out of jail.
"In an 8-year-old drug case, my father was arrested even after the Supreme Court quashed the summoning order. In that case, today the High Court gave us regular bail but Punjab Police secretly registered another case against my father so that he won't be able to come out of jail," Congress MLA's son said.
"No notice was served to us regarding the same. I was informed that the allegations are about threatening the witnesses," he added.
Punjab Police arrested Khaira from his Chandigarh residence in September in connection with an eight-year-old case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
While the Congress is calling it vindictive politics of AAP, the ruling party is terming the development as part of their "zero-tolerance policy" against drugs.
Earlier in 2015, there were 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.
