Bhola drug racket: Bittu Aulakh gets bail from HC

CHANDIGARH: One of the main accused in Jagdish Bhola drug racket case, SAD leader Maninder Singh alias Bittu Aulakh, has got bail from Punjab and Haryana high court. He was arrested in November 2013, soon after the scandal broke. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had attached 13 of his properties in different places in Punjab.

Aulakh was the one who had told ED about the ‘links’ between drug traffickers and former Akali minister, Bikramjit Singh Majithia, the brother of Union minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, wife of former deputy chief minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal .

The high court had earlier rejected his bail plea at least five times in over four years of trial in the money laundering case. He had secured bail in drug case in 2016, but was still behind bars due to money-laundering case. As per police, he was an independent supply chain for chemicals for Bhola. The ED had started investigation after Punjab police unearthed the racket in November 2013.

Bhola, a former DSP, who allegedly ran the drug cartel with the help of many politicians and NRIs, was arrested by the Fatehgarh Sahib police in November 2013. The Punjab Police had raided his residence in Mohali and recovered drugs valued at ₹100 crore. During investigation in this case, police had also arrested Aulakh and businessman, Jagjit Singh Chahal. They are still behind bars. Chahal owns a pharma firm and is accused of manufacturing synthetic drugs.

BHOLA, A FORMER DSP, WHO ALLEGEDLY RAN THE DRUG CARTEL WITH THE HELP OF MANY POLITICIANS AND NRIS, WAS ARRESTED BY THE FATEHGARH SAHIB POLICE IN 2013