'MLAs who rode cycles now own luxury cars', Punjab BJP chief seeks HC probe into drug money trail

Seeking the High Court Chief Justice-monitored probe into the drug money trail, state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Monday blamed Punjab legislators who rode cycles and now own luxury cars.
In a missive to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the BJP chief said, 'It is imperative to follow the money to track down the powerful beneficiaries in the drug money trail if the government wants to establish its credibility and resolve to uproot the drug mafia from Punjab.'
He sought the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu for setting up an appropriate 'time-bound' probe by a credible agency, or even a multi-agency probe, under the supervision of the Chief Justice to uncover the end beneficiaries in the drug money trail.
'Arresting thousands of drug addicts and small players won't make any difference in rooting out the drug menace. The flow of money has to be established to catch the big fish and arrest the end beneficiaries, be it politicians across party lines or officials. Without this, the government's claim in its fight against drugs in Punjab remains a farce,' Jakhar said, adding the drug cartels in the state cannot thrive without some or the other kind of patronage which has been there for some time now.
Jakhar said the recovery of narcotics in 'Punjab goes into several thousands of crores, which underlies the rot that exists. At the same time, the fortunes of so many Punjab politicians have turned in the last few years. This raises a lot of stench and suspicion on the source of funding'.
Without naming anyone, the BJP chief said, 'MLAs who would come on cycles now own luxury cars worth many crores. Many have several acres of farmhouses,' he said.
'Since the quantum of money involved in the drug trail is colossal, the money laundering case can be probed either by the Enforcement Directorate, or as deemed fit by the Chief Justice. Merely filing mandatory income tax returns by MLAs and others is not enough as there is a clear mismatch between their claims and the ground reality,' the BJP chief asserted.
The ministers, MLAs, party presidents, party in-charges and leaders of all hues should be a part of the investigation by the agencies, Jakhar stressed, adding that he, as the BJP president, volunteers to be the first to be probed as a mark of his and his party's sincerity and earnestness.
'The CM should, on priority, write to the honourable Chief Justice for initiating a probe by any agency deemed appropriate. The probe should be under the supervision of the Chief Justice, without which the flow of money to end beneficiaries of the drug trade will not be possible,' the BJP president said.
He said it would be prudent that the 'role of the judiciary and the executive remain separate and independent, which is why the CM should write to the Chief Justice under whose supervision the probe to establish the flow of money in the drug money trail can be initiated.'
'Not just the drug money trail, the trail of illicit money from mining and sand mafia also needs to be probed and the guilty brought to book,' Jakhar added.

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