ADGP Letter Leak Controversy: Channi govt under radar as senior official questions STF probe

The incident has raised some serious questions, like - Who leaked the letter? And, are there some leaders in the Punjab bureaucracy who back Shiromani Akali Dal?

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Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi ordered an FIR in connection with the alleged leak of a letter written by a top police official questioning the Special investigation Team probe in the drug case. The letter that came as a major embarrassment for the Channi government indicates that its "Mission Akali Dal" has failed ahead of the Punjab assembly elections.


 
The incident has raised some serious questions, like - Who leaked the letter? And, are there some leaders in the Punjab bureaucracy who back Shiromani Akali Dal?


 
Earlier, a letter penned by Additional Director General of Police S K Asthana as the head of the Bureau of Investigation to state police Chief Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota, highlighting legal hurdles in reopening several drug cases against a senior Akali leader, surfaced on the internet.


 
What was in the letter?


According to Asthana's December 11 letter, the chief of the Special Task Force investigating the drugs issue, ADGP Harpreet Singh Sidhu, was a relative of Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia. Meanwhile, Majithia was accused of being involved in the Punjab drug trade.



However, STF chief Sidhu had denied that Majithia was a relative. “He is a cousin of my cousin. It doesn’t make him a relative or a close family relative.”



“The facts regarding illegal activities and drug trafficking are serious and should be investigated," he said.



Asthana raised eight such "questions" in relation to the drug case stating that they will be answered as more investigations are conducted.




These eight questions are-


Can further investigation be ordered in cases where trials have already been concluded?



Can reinvestigation/ further investigation be carried out in these cases by any other officer except the SIT appointed by Hon’ble High Court?



Would ordering further investigation in these cases not amount to completely ignoring the directions of Hon’ble High Court in CWP No. 88 of 2014?



Would it be legally tenable to act upon the report of the Head, STF, when the same lies sealed in custody of the Hon’ble High Court… despite presumably requesting the Hon’ble High Court by the Advocate General, Punjab, to return the same, the same has not been returned back?



Would it be lawful to act upon the report of the Head, STF, when the same has already been superseded or merged with the subsequent report of the committee constituted by the State of Punjab consisting of then DGP and Additional Chief Secretary (Department of Home Affairs and Justice)?



Was Harpreet Sidhu, STF head, entitled to inquire about the alleged role of Bikram Singh Majithia despite having family relations?



What is the weight of the three statements recorded by the Enforcement Directorate to further investigate the role of Bikram Singh Majithia, especially when the Enforcement Directorate itself chose not to proceed against him?



Can the latest legal advice of the learned Advocate General be relied upon in the light of the fact that the same may be completely contradictory or in consonance to the previous legal advice/s tendered by former Advocate General/s, Punjab especially when this case has been deliberated upon since a long period of time?



“I may place on record my apprehension that further investigation shall require appropriate order by a superior court, which in the present case is the High Court as the trials were conducted before the Special CBI Court, SAS Nagar.”



CM Channi’s on letter leak


While responding to media on "how the letter got leaked," CM Channi said, "An FIR would be filed to find out how the letter got leaked." Without giving names, Channi stated that "big fish" would not be spared."


 
The chief minister, on the other hand, stated that the leaked letter was only a "half version" of the original.



“Those who are scared of action and the big fish involved in the drug racket and those who could not sleep are threatening our officers,” the CM added.



Embarrassment to ruling Congress


As the state government was finally set to take action in the drug case, the letter was leaked. Consequently, Congress biggest pre-poll promise to put culprits of drug cases behind bars has once again taken a backseat and it has no clues whether who is behind this letter leak.


 
Majithia had filed a motion to be declared a party to the case late last month, alleging that the Congress government was trying to frame him. The Akali Dal has been protesting, claiming that Majithia, Sukhbir Singh Badal's brother-in-law, might be detained at any time.


 
Now, the letter which alleges there are legal hurdles in reopening several drug cases against Majithia has been shared publically. The CM had ordered an FIR.




But the major question is that whether the names of those, who leaked the letter will surface during the investigation. The letter leak also suggests that several government officials are well-wishers of Akali Dal, who are yet to be named.



The incident has damaged ruling Congress’ image ahead of Punjab assembly elections. At the same time, the Channi government is being accused of taking kickbacks in SSP postings in the state.


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