Sukhpal Khaira, the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing Bholath for the Congress party, was arrested at his Chandigarh residence by the Fazilka police. His arrest is in connection with a case filed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act back in 2015.

The case was registered on March 9, 2015, and initiated by the Fazilka police following the seizure of 2 kg of heroin and 24 carats of gold biscuits from a vehicle. In the same operation, nine individuals were arrested, one of them being Gurdev Singh, who was believed to be closely associated with Khaira.

Officials revealed that during the course of the investigation, Khaira's name emerged as a person of interest. They discovered that Khaira had engaged in 65 phone conversations with Gurdev Singh between February 27, 2015, and March 8, 2015, just one day prior to the case being officially filed. These calls were made using the mobile phones of his private secretary and personal security officer.

In a related development, Gurdev Singh and eight others were convicted on October 31, 2017, and subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison. In November 2017, Sukhpal Khaira was summoned by the trial court in Fazilka, this time as an additional accused in the same case. At the time of these legal proceedings, Khaira was serving as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) and held the position of an Aam Aadmi Party MLA. During this period, he had claimed that there was a conspiracy within his own party regarding the incident.

This arrest marks a significant development in the ongoing legal proceedings related to the 2015 case under the NDPS Act. It has drawn attention to Khaira's involvement and phone communications with Gurdev Singh in the days leading up to the case, adding a layer of complexity to the situation. The case which initially revolved around drug-related offenses and seizures, has taken on a political dimension due to Khaira's prominent role in Punjab politics as a Congress MLA.

Meanwhile, Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring criticized the AAP government over Khaira's arrest, branding it an act of "political vendetta."

“The recent arrest of @INCPunjab MLA @SukhpalKhaira ji smacks of political vendetta, it is an attempt to intimidate the opposition and is a ploy of the @AAPPunjab govt to distract from core issues. We stand strongly with Sukhpal Khaira and will take this fight to its logical conclusion,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In June 2021, Khaira rejoined the Congress, but in November 2021, he faced arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged drug and fake passport racket. The Fazilka drug seizure case resurfaced during this investigation.

Khaira spent 75 days in jail before being granted bail shortly before the Punjab Assembly polls in 2022. He contested as a Congress candidate in the Bholath constituency and secured a victory.

According to sources, the ED uncovered bank transactions totaling approximately Rs 4.8 crore in Khaira's account, while he had reported his income as Rs 99 lakh. However, in February 2023, the Supreme Court quashed the summon orders issued by the Fazilka court against Sukhpal Khaira, stating that the summons could not be issued since the trial court had already concluded the case. Throughout this period, Khaira remained active in voicing his opinions against the ruling AAP government on social media and public platforms.

Image source: English Post