A day after his arrest, former Punjab Minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia was on Thursday (June 26, 2025) remanded to seven days’ custody by a Mohali court in connection with an alleged case of laundering ₹540 crore of drug money.

The Vigilance Bureau, which had arrested Mr. Majithia on June 25, produced him before the court and sought his remand to further probe the alleged use of multiple channels for laundering drug proceeds. “The court has sent Bikram Majithia to seven-day vigilance remand. He will now be produced before the court on July 2,” said Ferry Sofat, counsel for the Vigilance Bureau.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, addressing media persons on Thursday, described the arrest as a turning point in the State’s anti-drug efforts. “We have taken action against the small-time drug smugglers. Now it is the turn of the big fish,” Mr. Mann said.

The Chief Minister alleged that “cross-party statements” in Mr. Majithia’s support pointed to a long-standing political nexus shielding drug traffickers. He claimed that 29 mobile phones, eight laptops, and other evidence had been recovered from the SAD leader’s residence. “His arrest has exposed the unholy alliance among traditional political parties on the drug issue. Their actions have devastated Punjab,” he said, adding that more prominent political leaders would soon be in the net and that their properties would either be confiscated or demolished.

In a sharp response, the Shiromani Akali Dal accused the State government of violating due process and misusing the law to target Mr. Majithia. At a joint press conference, senior SAD leaders Balwinder Singh Bhundar, Maheshinder Singh Grewal, and Daljit Singh Cheema accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of indulging in “political vendetta.”

“The disproportionate assets case was registered without even a preliminary or regular inquiry. This is an attempt to gag Mr. Majithia and divert attention from the failure of the government’s ‘war on drugs’ campaign,” the leaders said.

They termed the action “vindictive” and likened the atmosphere in the State to the period of Emergency, calling the arrest a “murder of democracy.” The SAD leaders alleged that the AAP government had been trying to falsely implicate Mr. Majithia ever since it came to power in Punjab.