In a high-voltage drama on Thursday morning, Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira was arrested by Punjab Police in an old drugs case from his Chandigarh residence. As per reports, Sukhpal Singh Khaira who is a staunch critic of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was arrested around 6:30 a.m. in connection with an old case registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. A team of Police led by SP Manjeet Singh and DSP AR Sharma raided his Chandigarh residence. Sukhpal Khaira live-streamed a video on his Facebook page when a team of Police arrived at his residence. In the video, Khaira was seen asking the cops why was he getting arrested to which the Police replied that he was being taken downtown in an old NDPS case on the recommendation of a probe conducted by an SIT led by a DIG rank officer and two SSPs. Now, the question arises who is Sukhpal Singh Khaira and what are the charges against him? Continue reading below-
Who is Sukhpal Singh Khaira?
Sukhpal Singh Khaira is a Congress leader from Punjab. He is an MLA from Bholath. Bholath is a town and a nagar panchayat in Kapurthala district in the state of Punjab, India. Khaira has been arrested in a drug case that was registered in 2015. Notably, it is not the first time Khaira has been arrested under the same case. In 2021, Sukhpal Khaira was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of money laundering linked with the same FIR in which he was arrested today. However, the court granted him bail in 2022.
To be precise, in 2015, the police registered an FIR in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. As the trial went on, 9 people were convicted in 2017 after the police recovered two kg of heroin, 24 gold biscuits, one country-made pistol, and two Pakistani SIM cards from them. Subsequently, Sukhpal Khaira's name cropped up during the investigation as an additional accused.
There were accusations against Sukhpal Khaira that had a close connection with convicts in the drug smuggling racket, in which the case was registered in Fazilka in 2015, and those involved in the fake passport racket, in which the case was registered in 2017. He was taken into custody by the central agency in Chandigarh under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2021.
Supreme Court had quashed the summoning of Sukhpal Khaira
It is pertinent to mention here that in the Sukhpal Khaira arrest video, the Congress MLA was seen telling the cops that the case was already quashed by the Supreme Court. To be precise, in February 2023, the Supreme Court of India had quashed summoning orders against Sukhpal Khaira by a Fazilka court in drugs seizure case. The court noted that the orders under Section 319 CrPC were passed after the accused in the case were convicted and sentenced. In December last year, the Constitutional Bench of the SC noted that once the trial court passed an order in a sentence, it is not in its juridiction or order summons to additional accused under Section 319 CrPC.
Watch Sukhpal Singh Khaira's arrest video