Reacting to the arrest of Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the new SIT has found enough evidence during the investigation that Sukhpal Khaira has been involved in drug smuggling. The SIT team arrested him on Thursday morning for further investigation.
Addressing the media at the Chandigarh party headquarters on Thursday, AAP Punjab Chief Spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said that the AAP government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is working rigorously to eliminate drug mafia from Punjab and free our youth from drug addiction.
The Mann government has zero tolerance against the drugs mafia. Anyone involved in drug trafficking, no matter how influential they are, will not be spared. He added that Sukhpal Khaira's arrest has no political vendetta behind it. His arrest was made on the basis of evidence found against him during the SIT investigation.
If we wanted any political revenge, we have a government in Punjab for more than a year and half now, he would have been arrested earlier already. Kang said that in 2022, the Supreme Court had given relief to Sukhpal Khaira, but the court had clearly written in its order that the Punjab Police can re-investigate the case.
Based on the order of the Supreme Court, an SIT of Punjab Police started re-investigation of this case. Kang said that Manjeet Singh and Gurdev Singh, against whom allegations of drug smuggling were made in a case during the SAD-BJP government in 2015, both of them are very close to Sukhpal Khaira.
That is why ED had also registered a case of money laundering against Sukhpal Khaira at that time and he had also gone to jail in that case. Kang said that this matter is very serious because it has its connection from Pakistan to the UK.
Appealing to all the political parties of Punjab, Kang said that if the opposition parties want to eliminate drugs from Punjab, then they shouldn't oppose the arrest of Sukhpal Khaira. If any party opposes this, it will be clear that they supports drug smugglers.