Bhola drug case: High court dismisses bail pleas of 14 accused

On Wednesday, the Punjab and Haryana high court dismissed the bail pleas of 14 people allegedly involved in the international drug racket run by kingpin Jagdish Singh alias Bhola.

Among those whose bail pleas have been rejected are Bhola’s driver Davinder Happy; New Delhi-based businessmen Rakesh Sadhu and Dev Raj Behal; Amritsar hotelier and Shiromani Akali Dal worker Maninder Singh Aulakh alias Bittu Aulakh and pharmaceutical company owner Davinder Kant.

The order came on a plea of all the accused from the bench of justice Inderjit Singh. The cases against the accused are registered at different places in Punjab and trial is underway.

Allegations

According to Punjab Police, Bittu Aulakh allegedly handled the international operations of the racket. Bhola’s driver Devinder Happy is said to be a close aide and would often supply hideouts for the drugs.

Kant, who owns a pharmaceutical company in Gagret, Una, supplied synthetic drugs to the chain while both the New Delhi-based businessmen were responsible for international deals operating from the capital.

All the accused were arrested in the past one year during the government drive against drugs.

Govt’s opinion

The government had opposed the bails submitting that the cases should not be seen in isolation and a holistic view of the drug menace should be taken before arriving at any decision. The detailed order in the case is awaited.

Others whose bail pleas have been dismissed are Sarabjeet Singh Sabba, Kulveer Singh, Rajinder Singh, Dalbir Singh, Visawa Singh Baljinder alias Sonu, Surjeet Singh, Deep Singh alias Deepu, Tarsem Singh and Dharamveer Singh.