Two very large crude carriers loaded with Iranian oil have reached Indian ports, ship tracking data from LSEG shows, as local refiners utilise a temporary waiver granted by the United States last month to resume purchases from Tehran for the first time in seven years. The current waiver is due to expire on April 19. The Iran-flagged Felicity has reached Sikka Port in western India, while the Curacao-flagged Jaya is at the eastern port of Odisha, the data shows. A VLCC carries 2 million barrels of oil. India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, has not received a cargo from Iran since May 2019 after coming under U.S. pressure not to buy the country's crude. Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, has bought Iranian oil loaded on the Jaya, a vessel under U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported last week. India has also allowed Reliance Industries Ltd, the operator of the world's biggest refining complex, to buy Iranian oil loaded on the Comoros-flagged...
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday arrested senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia for allegedly laundering more than Rs 540 crore of "drug money".
Former minister Bikram Singh Majithia's arrest came after a vigilance team conducted a raid at his residence in Amritsar.
The bureau claimed preliminary investigations revealed that more than Rs 540 crore of "drug money" has been laundered through several channels allegedly facilitated by Majithia.
A spokesperson of the bureau said in a statement that assets, both movable and immovable, in the names of Majithia and his wife Ganieve Kaur Majithia increased substantially, for which no legitimate sources of income were provided.
Majithia, who is the brother-in-law of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, is already facing a probe in a 2021 drugs case.
During the raid, the vigilance team from Mohali faced protests by Majithia and his wife Ganieve Kaur, an Akali MLA, who accused the officers of barging into their house in Green Avenue on Wednesday morning.
Sukhbir Badal, his wife and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and many senior Akali leaders also lashed out at the AAP government in Punjab over the raid at Majithia's residence, calling it a "political vendetta".
A similar raid was conducted at the couple's Chandigarh residence as well, sources said.
Stating that a disproportionate assets case has been registered against her husband, Ganieve Kaur told reporters in Amritsar, "We will continue to fight. People will stand with Majithia." The raid was led by Swarandeep Singh, AIG, Flying Squad, Vigilance Bureau, Mohali, who was reinstated last month after a suspension.
Singh is also the complainant in the FIR registered against Majithia at 4:40 am on Wednesday.
The fresh FIR stems from an ongoing investigation being conducted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Punjab Police into the 2021 drug case registered against Majithia.
In March, the SIT claimed that it found "suspicious financial transactions" in firms linked to Majithia and his family.
The SIT also expanded its investigation to scrutinise financial transactions abroad, it said in March.
The vigilance spokesperson said the probe by the SIT and the bureau revealed "massive laundering of drug money facilitated by Majithia amounting to more than Rs 540 crore".
It included huge unaccounted cash worth Rs 161 crore deposited in bank accounts of companies controlled by Majithia, channelisation of Rs 141 crore through suspected foreign entities, excess deposition of Rs 236 crore without disclosure or explanation in company financial statements, and acquisition of movable and immovable assets by Majithia without any legitimate source of income, the spokesperson said.
The SIT probe indicated that drug money was funnelled into Saraya Industries, which is run by Majithia and his family members, he added.
So far, Rs 540 crore of "drug money" has been tracked as having been generated illegally by using the influence of Majithia as a public servant (MLA), holding a Cabinet post in the erstwhile Punjab government, the spokesperson said.
The bureau seized more than 30 mobile phones, five laptops, three iPads, two desktops, several diaries, property-related documents, and documents related to Saraya Industries during the raid, sources said.
According to the FIR, Majithia accumulated vast wealth, properties and business interests in his name and in the names of his family members, which appear to be grossly disproportionate to his legitimate sources of income.
As the news of the raid spread on social media, Akali leaders and supporters headed towards Majithia's residence and raised slogans against the Bhagwant Mann government.
However, a heavy police force was deployed on the road leading to Majithia's house, with no one allowed to pass the barricades.
As a team of officers entered Majithia's house, Ganieve Kaur asked them, "What is happening? I want to know what is going on... How did you barge into my house without my knowledge?" Majithia also said that the vigilance officers "barged" into his house, "terrorising" his children.
The former minister could be heard arguing with a DSP-rank vigilance officer, expressing his dismay over the manner in which they entered his house.
"You have forced your way through. This is not the way. Do not come and threaten people at my house... You are barging into my house," Majithia told the vigilance team.
Majithia also questioned why the officers were not in uniform, to which one of them replied that vigilance officers remain in civil dress.
Majithia was even seen interrupting the DSP-rank officer when he asked about the identity of a man standing in a room, telling him that he won't get affected by the government's "highhandedness".
In response, the officer asked Majithia not to lecture him as he sought the Akali leader's cooperation.
The officer also objected to Majithia filming the raid.
In a video, Majithia lashed out at the Mann government, alleging that the AAP was resorting to such tactics to suppress the voice of the opposition leaders.
Claiming that the vigilance department lodged a fresh FIR on Tuesday night, Majithia said, "They forcefully entered my house. If an FIR has been lodged, we are submitted to the law. If they wanted to register an FIR in a DA (disproportionate assets) case, they could have given a notice. It is very clear that they (AAP) are rattled." Majithia also claimed a vigilance team led by an SSP conducted the raid.
"Bhagwant Mann ji, understand this... No matter how many FIRs you register, I will not be afraid nor your government can suppress my voice," Majithia said.
"I have always talked about the issues facing Punjab and will continue to do so," he added.
Before being taken into custody, Majithia met his two children and wife.
An SIT of Punjab Police is already probing a 2021 drugs case against Majithia, in which the Akali leader has been summoned and questioned many times.
Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on December 20, 2021, when a Congress government was in power in Punjab, led by Charanjit Singh Channi.
The Akali leader spent more than five months in Patiala jail before walking out of prison in August 2022 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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