PATIALA: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia was released from Nabha Central Jail on Tuesday after the Supreme Court granted him bail in a disproportionate assets case. Following the apex court’s order, the trial court directed his release on the submission of a security bond of Rs 2 lakh.
Soon after walking out of the jail, Majithia proceeded to Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib in Patiala, where he paid obeisance. He was received by a large number of SAD leaders and workers, who raised slogans in his support and described his release as a “victory of truth”.
Addressing the media after his release, Majithia launched a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. He alleged that the state government had misused investigative agencies to frame him in what he termed a “politically motivated case”. In a serious charge, Majithia claimed that Chief Minister Mann wanted him to be eliminated while he was lodged in jail. “My life was under threat in prison. The chief minister wanted to silence me, but the truth has prevailed, ” he alleged.
Majithia said he would continue to fight the case legally and politically and would expose what he called the “vindictive politics” of the ruling dispensation. He also thanked the Supreme Court for granting him relief and his party workers for standing by him during what he described as a difficult phase.
Senior SAD leaders, including party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, welcomed Majithia’s release and accused the Mann government of pursuing a policy of vendetta against opposition leaders. They alleged that the case against Majithia was filed to divert attention from what they called the AAP government’s failures on law and order, drugs, and governance.
The AAP government, however, has consistently maintained that the case against Majithia is based on evidence and that the law will take its own course. Government sources said the grant of bail does not amount to an acquittal and that the prosecution would present its case during the trial.
Majithia is expected to intensify his political activities in the coming days, with SAD leaders indicating that the party will raise the issue of “political persecution” of opposition figures both inside and outside the Punjab Assembly.