Punjab Police Raid Bikram Majithia’s Residence, Issue Look-Out Notice After Majitha Police Station Row
AMRITSAR: Punjab Police on Monday conducted raids at the Amritsar residence of senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia after registering a case against him and several supporters for allegedly storming the Majitha police station and forcibly freeing a detainee from police custody.
Heavy police deployment was witnessed outside Majithia’s Green Avenue residence in Amritsar as teams of the Amritsar Rural Police attempted to arrest him in connection with the case. However, police officials said Majithia was not present at the house during the raid.
According to police, the incident took place on Sunday when Majithia, accompanied by dozens of supporters, reached the Majitha police station after one of his associates, identified as Jobanpreet Singh, was detained by police in a criminal case. Police alleged that Majithia and around 50-60 supporters forcibly entered the police station, searched various rooms, threatened police personnel and damaged official records and files.
The FIR registered by the police accuses Majithia and others of obstructing government work, assaulting police officials and attempting to free a detainee from lawful custody. Punjab Police have constituted multiple special teams and an SIT to arrest the accused and investigate the entire episode. SSP Amritsar Rural Sohail Mir said the law would take its course irrespective of the status of those involved.
Majithia, however, maintained that the detained man was being held illegally. According to Shiromani Akali Dal leaders, Majithia personally searched the police station and later located the detainee at the residence of the SHO instead of inside the police lock-up. SAD leaders alleged that the detention was unlawful and politically motivated.
SAD spokesman Arshdeep Singh Kaler said Majithia had videographed his visit to the police station and had exposed an “illegal detention” by the police. He termed the police action and subsequent look-out notice against Majithia a “farce,” pointing out that Majithia’s passport had already been confiscated by a court in another ongoing case. The Akali Dal also described the raids as an act of “political vendetta” by the ruling AAP government.
Later in the evening, Punjab Police reportedly issued a look-out circular against Majithia as efforts intensified to trace him. Simultaneous raids were also conducted at locations linked to some of his supporters.
The latest confrontation has further escalated tensions between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab and the opposition Shiromani Akali Dal. Majithia, one of the strongest critics of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, has repeatedly accused the state government of misusing police and vigilance agencies against opposition leaders.
Majithia has remained embroiled in several legal battles in recent years, including the disproportionate assets and drugs-related cases investigated by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau and special investigation teams. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had granted him bail in a disproportionate assets case after several months in custody.
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