Chandigarh, Jan 17 (IANS) An enforcement directorate official, who had recently questioned Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia on money laundering allegations, has been shifted to Kolkata, drawing strong criticism from opposition parties which accused the central government of a cover-up.
Assistant Director Niranjan Singh, Friday transferred from Jalandhar to Kolkata, had recently questioned Majithia for over four hours along with other ED officials in Jalandhar following allegations of his links with three NRIs being investigated for money laundering connected to a Rs.6,000 crore international synthetic drugs racket busted by Punjab Police in 2013.
Majithia is the younger brother of union minister Harsimrat Badal, who is wife of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa Saturday attacked the Narendra Modi central government and the Parkash Singh Badal state government for "conspiring to hush up the investigations against Majithia and other Akali leaders by transferring the ED officer" mid-way in the probe.
"This is a criminal conspiracy to hush up this narco-terrorism racket by the ruling powers as Majithia is among the most powerful leaders being the brother-in-law of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and brother of Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal," Bajwa said here.
The ED is under the finance ministry.
Bajwa also noted out that ED officials in the region had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the harassment by the Punjab Police for the last several days which was aimed at putting pressure on them.
Bajwa sought a CBI inquiry into the racket and also demanded the ED's investigation should be transferred out of the state "so that the officers are able to carry out their probe without intimidation of the Punjab Police".
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Ahbaab Singh Grewal said that the transfer of ED official Niranjan Singh right after he questioned Majithia had raised many questions.
He said that ED officials had complained to their senior officials in Delhi regarding their phones being tapped by Punjab Police and they being pestered for information regarding the filing of 'challan' in this case.
HC slams Delhi Police on women's safety
New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Friday slammed Delhi Police, asking why they can't hire CCTV cameras for the safety of women in the national capital, and sought a comprehensive
After wheat, now preparations for a ban on sugar export, this is the plan of the government
The central government is planning to ban the export of sugar like wheat. This has been claimed in a report by the news agency Reuters. According to the report, the government may restrict sugar
The formula of Lockdown: The world was shocked by the havoc of the Omicron variant, which countries imposed the lockdown? Know the condition of India
Omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus, has caused a worldwide outcry. In the last week, there has been an increase of 11 percent in corona infection cases in the world. The World Health
Indian oil companies can buy stake in Russian company, government has ordered
India has asked state-owned energy companies to evaluate the possibility of buying European oil major BP's stake in sanctions-hit Russian firm Rosneft. BP has announced that it is selling its 19.75%
KKR Full Squad: Despite getting Starc at a record price, KKR bought 10 players, see possibly playing 11
Kolkata Knight Riders team had entered the IPL auction with a purse of Rs 32.7 crore. It bought a total of 10 players, including a record bid of Rs 24.75 crore for Mitchell Starc. The team had
'This is not education... this is saffron policy', MK Stalin lashed out at the Centre on the new National Education Policy issue.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday launched a major attack on the central government. He called the new National Education Policy (NEP) a saffronisation policy. Stalin said that this
OnePlus can launch this cheap smartphone next month, TV series will also be entered
The Chinese smartphone company is going to organize its event soon. In this summer launch event, the company is going to launch a new series of TVs along with smartphones. At the same time, the
SRH vs RR: 'Was thinking about Super Over', Pat Cummins made a big revelation after registering a dramatic win over Royals.
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins said that he was thinking about the Super Over. SRH defeated Rajasthan Royals by 1 run in the 50th match of IPL 2024 on Thursday.
Enable Voting by NRIs in Eight Weeks, SC Tells Government
New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday asked the government to take steps, within eight weeks, for implementation of e-voting by NRIs after being told the government has accepted the
'Conspiracy to weaken democracy', BJP cornered Rahul Gandhi over US aid; Know the truth
The BJP on Thursday said that US President Donald Trump's remarks on USAID funding to India confirm Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim during the Lok Sabha election campaign that foreign powers are
